I Will Break You!
by kisukebenihime
Summary: MadSaku. Uchiha Corp just hired a new secretary for one of their sellers. Funny thing is, Madara doesn’t want one. Sakura’s ‘no-nonsense’ attitude just has to work; it has to! Watch the sparks fly as the two dominate personalities clash.
1. Chapter 1

First Day on the Job

(A/N: I've realized something… there aren't many Madara/Sakura stories. So, I'm going to write one. Modern AU, in case your wondering. Rated T for language, mild violence and mild adult themes. Enjoy. Oh, I will be periodically updating my stories. The next update WILL be for "Amnesia".)

**Summary**: MadSaku. Uchiha Corp just hired a new secretary for one of their sellers. Funny thing is, Madara doesn't want one. Sakura's 'no-nonsense' attitude just has to work; it has to! Watch the sparks fly as the two dominate personalities clash.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto, though I wish I did.

~xxx~

Sakura walked somberly into her apartment, kicking the door closed behind her. Yet another unsuccessful interview… all because of her pink hair. Of course, every job she applied for, Sakura was more than over qualified for. _But, _her damned natural hair color kept her from finding means to make more money. She suddenly felt lucky that her scholarship paid for her education in full because her job at Burger King was just barely enough to pay the bills.

With a scowl, Sakura marched over to the phone and hit the play button for her answering machine.

"You have one new message." The mechanical feminine voice echoed in the long hall.

"_Sakura, it's me, Ino. Listen, I know you're still looking for a better job and I think I may have an answer. Give me a call the minute you hear this. I don't know how long the opening is going to last. Love ya!" _

Sakura immediately snatched up her phone and dialed her friend.

"Ino, you're my hero." She said when the blonde picked up the phone.

"_I figured you'd say that." _Ino chimed with a smug tone. Sakura could have sworn Ino's lips were cracking, imagining her friend's wide smile.

"So, what's the position?" she asked while walking towards the kitchen.

"_One of our salesmen just fired his secretary; a real hard-ass, if you ask me." _Ino sighed into the receiver. _"You'll have to go through training, of course, but it's nothing you can't handle." _

"Sounds like fun." Sakura said sarcastically. "Who's the nut job I'll be working for _if _I get the job?"

"_I thought you'd never ask. You'll be working for Uchiha Madara."_

~xxx~

Dressed in the nicest suit she owned, Sakura walked in the front door of the towering skyscraper. Met with the sight of shining, grey marble floors and polished white marble pillars. A little intimidated, Sakura walked up to the front desk with long confident strides.

"Good afternoon, I have a one o'clock appointment with Uchiha Fugaku-sama." She said politely to the receptionist.

"Your name, ma'am?"

"Haruno Sakura." The woman behind the counter nodded and picked up the phone. Sakura didn't listen to the woman on the phone, instead, Sakura took the time to memorize the lobby. Grey floors met black walls that led to the high, glass ceiling. Suspended from thick metal beams was an ornate glass chandelier of gold and silver.

"Haruno-san, Uchiha-sama will see you now. He's on the top floor, the big office at the end of the hall." The woman said.

"Thank you very much." Sakura gave a polite bow before heading for the elevator.

"Sakura-chan?" a voice called from the entrance. Sakura turned and smiled.

"Hi, Shisui-kun. How are you?"

"Me? I'm fine. What brings you here?" he asked as he caught up to her.

"I have an interview with Fugaku-sama." She stated as the elevator doors opened.

"Whoa, ho, ho… now there's a strange turn of events." Shisui smiled as they stepped inside. "I was just thinking about how cool it would be to have you here." He said as he tapped the button for the fourteenth floor.

"You mean, it would be cool if I were here to do your work for you." She snapped with a sarcastic sneer. "I remember those times you would show up at Burger King and beg me to help you."

"Hey, those were tough cases!" he defended with a pout. "I just needed a fresh pair of eyes to look it over."

"Cell phone sales contracts aren't hard." She responded flatly while glaring at him from the corner of her eye.

"Oh, come on." He said with a sigh. "Ok, Miss Genius, what's the first step in setting up a contract?"

"Corporate or personal?"

"Personal."

Sakura tapped a finger to her chin as the elevator came to a stop. The doors opened and they stepped out. "Checking the buyers credit, baka."

"Alright, you win." He sighed. "Come on, Fugaku-jisan's office is this way." Shisui took a left in the hall with Sakura right behind him. They stopped in front of the office door and Shisui turned to her. "A word of advice." he whispered, looking around to make sure no one heard him. "Make eye contact and give a firm handshake. Ji-san's like a shark, he can smell your fear from a mile away."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "If there's anyone that scares me, it's your mother." She sighed and checked her watch, she still had five minutes but it was always best to be early. "I have to go, Shisui." She turned towards the door and stopped. "Shisui-kun?" she turned to face him again.

"Yeah?"

"A word of advice… brown isn't your color." She gestured to his suit. "Stick with blue or grey, they look good on you." He smiled at her.

"I'll keep that in mind. Good luck, Sakura-chan." Sakura waved him off and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

~xxx~

Fugaku stood with his back to the door, arms behind his back as he looked upon the bustling streets. He turned to face her once he heard the door click shut.

"Good afternoon, Uchiha-sama. Thank you for seeing me on such shout notice." Sakura bowed politely to the powerful man before her.

"Please, have a seat Haruno-san." Taking Shisui's advice to heart, Sakura shook Fugaku's hand with a firm grip and made sure to look him in the eyes. It wasn't necessary though, they've known each other for years. Fugaku glanced at the clock. "Punctual as usual, Sakura-san." He said with a hint of a smirk.

"Of course, Fugaku-sama. When have you ever known me to be late?" a small smile graced her lips.

"That is very true." He said as he picked up a piece of paper and looked it over. "From your resume, I can see that you are more than qualified for the position. What I want to know is, how did you find out about the opening so fast?" he raised a brow as he looked up at her.

Tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear, Sakura gave a tiny grin. "A friend of mine works on the same floor. So, when everything happened, she called me immediately."

"Are you sure you're up for the task? My nephew isn't the easiest person to work with."

Sakura nodded. "I've worked with Sasuke and survived, he won't be much different." She answered honestly.

"Alright, Shisui will show you to your office. My nephew won't be back from his trip until Monday, so, you'll have the rest of the week to get acquainted with the building, clients and cases."

"Thank you so much, Fugaku-sama. I won't let you down." She stood with him and shook his hand again.

~xxx~

Monday, bloody Monday. Madara hated Monday's the most for it signaled the end of his happy hour (which started the minute he left the office every Friday). Not only that, but he was to meet with his new secretary today. By the gods, he would kill himself if he got another bimbo! Thus the reason why he protested the very idea in the beginning. But he worked for his uncle and didn't want to loose his job because of some chick.

Taking the elevator in the parking deck, Madara sighed, no, he growled. This was not going to be a good day. Just thinking about the new secretary made his blood boil with anger. They didn't even bother to tell him her name, when she would be in or what to expect from the new girl. All he knew was that he wasn't allowed to fire her… at all. Only Fugaku could make that call or the girl would quit on her own.

This brought a smile to his face. Madara wasn't known as the best salesman for nothing. He could make anyone do what he wanted when he wanted. The chime of the elevator broke him from his musings as he stepped into the lobby.

"I don't see why not, Shisui-kun." A soft melodic voice reached his ears. Madara turned towards the elevators that led to the offices upstairs. And standing by said elevators was Uchiha Shisui and a girl that looked vaguely familiar. Her long, pink locks pulled back into a French twist, she stood all of five foot four in a pair of low heels. What really caught his attention was her athletic figure, wrapped snugly in a black suit.

"I'll treat you to lunch, seeing is how you don't look like you eat much anyway." Shisui said as the doors opened.

"I do eat. I'll have you know, I had an omelet and oatmeal for breakfast with a cup of coffee." The girl said while the stepped forward.

"Sure you did." He said sarcastically. The doors closed, shielding anymore conversation. Madara stood stock still. Was that his new secretary? If so, this was going to be a cake walk. Making her quit would be as easy as pie. His devious smirk grew as he walked to the elevators, the people around him parted like the Red Sea at the sight of him. Madara scared a lot of people and others avoided him… just because. He wasn't known to be a pleasant person, didn't care for others (unless it was family) nor did he have a good report with the secretarial staff. Hell, he just fired his third secretary this month… and it was only the seventeenth!

"This ought to be interesting." He snickered and pressed the button for the eleventh floor.

~xxx~

The computer hummed to life as Sakura pressed the button and flicked on the lights. She set her bag down under her desk and turned to the small table behind her. Coffee, she needed more coffee. Filling the coffee pot with water, Sakura set about making more of the miracle wake up juice while turning on the radio. Turning from the table, Sakura flipped open the planner on her desk and looked it over. The last secretary had scheduled a meeting at nine so, Sakura filed through the cabinet for the correct case for the meeting. The door opened behind her, muffled footsteps skirted towards her.

"And just who the hell are you?" a voice hissed from behind. Turning abruptly, Sakura glared daggers at the tall, dark-haired man standing on the other side of her desk with his arms crossed over his broad chest.

'_Good morning to you too, asshole!' _she thought bitterly as she kicked the file cabinet closed with a tap of her foot. Sakura bowed low even though she wanted to reach over the desk and strangle him already. "Good morning Uchiha-san. My name is Haruno Saku--"

"Save it." He interrupted with a wave of his hand, eyes narrowed in a glare as he looked down his nose at her. "I want the files for all of my meetings today on my desk in five minutes and a cup of coffee when it's finished brewing." Madara spat as he tossed his black wool cost on her desk, knocking over her pen tray and a picture frame.

"Right away sir." She answered, hiding the scowl that threatened to pull at her lips. He turned away sharply, long hair flapping with the movement, and walked briskly to the other door. Once she heard the door close, Sakura fumed. "That fucking asshole!" she hissed in a whisper while, literally, wrenching his coat from her desk and throwing it in the closet. Quickly picking up the mess he made, Sakura pulled the files and made his coffee.

Without speaking, Sakura marched into his office, deposited the files and coffee before walking right back out. Madara smirked. Not even ten minutes into the work day and he already had her feathers ruffled. This was just too perfect. Taking a sip of his coffee, his smirk wavered as he looked down at the mug. She made a damn good cup of coffee. With a shrug of his shoulders, Madara set about his normal routine.

~xxx~

It was eleven in the morning and already, Sakura wanted to go home. Madara had walked into the office after his meeting and flung the flies at her, as if pitching a baseball, completely ignoring the messages she held out for him. Crouched down on the floor, Sakura picked up the papers scattered about with a frown, cursing under her breath as she went.

"I'll kill him, I swear… beat him to a bloody pulp. When I'm done, not ever his own mother will recognize him."

"Beat who to a bloody pulp?" a monotone asked. Sakura squeaked in surprise, looking up to see Itachi and Fugaku standing in front of her desk.

"His _Majesty_." She answered, jerking her thumb in the direction of Madara's office.

"We've come to see Madara." Fugaku spoke with a raised brow, watching as Sakura stood.

"Of course." She smiled and hit the speakerphone button and buzzed Madara.

"_What do you want?" _Madara hissed into the phone, not pleased by the interruption.

"Uchiha-sama and Itachi-san are here to see you." Sakura said, setting the file on the desk.

"_Very well, send them in. Then make yourself useful and jump off a cliff or something." _He spat as he crumpled a piece of paper. Before Fugaku could protest his nephew's choice of words, Sakura was smiling sweetly at the phone, though her eyes glared at the plastic machine.

"That is quite disgusting sir. I suppose I could pick up a cucumber and lube for you while I'm at lunch, if that is what you wish. If I could be so bold as to make a suggestion; please leave your fantasies of raping little boys at home. It is hardly appropriate for workplace conversation." Itachi gave a snort as Madara sputtered into the phone.

"_**You little bit--" **__Click._

"He's ready whenever you are." She grinned as the two men chuckled and walked passed her. Neither one spoke to the other for the rest of the day. Sakura was quite pleased with herself and how she handled her new boss. Shisui seemed to think so too, as he laughed at the situation and gave her a high five at the end of the day.

(A/N: So, what do you think? Good, right? I knew you'd like it. Anyways, leave a comment please. I think we need more MadSaku, don't you agree?)


	2. Chapter 2

**Payback is a Bitch**

(**A/N:** In this chapter, the antics only get crazier. I hope you enjoy the insanity that is the working relationship of Madara and Sakura!)

~xxx~

Over the next week, Sakura arrived early to start her day. Each morning, she would ready the days files, make coffee and work on summary reports for her boss. And every morning, Madara would skulk in, throw his coat at her and made some rude comment. Which led them to today.

Sakura put on a pot of coffee with a sigh, thinking about the weekend ahead. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. She spent most of her time with Ino but her friend was going away for the weekend with her boyfriend. Which left Sakura up the creek without a paddle. She growled at the thought.

"Thanks a lot pig." She hissed and turned towards her desk. Being Friday, casual day, Sakura wore a nice pair of blue jeans, a crisp, black button-up shirt and a white vest with a pair of black boots. Her hair was down, long locks fanning over her back. On either side of her head were strands of her bubblegum hair that were pulled back and held by a small black clip. Madara strolled into the office with a glare in his eyes, as per usual. He, however, was dressed in khaki pants and a black dress shirt. Apparently, that was as casual as he got. He still wore his black Doc Martins.

"Files and coffee on my desk in five minutes." He said as he, once again, tossed his jacket on her desk.

"Good morning to you too, jackass." She hissed with a glare. Madara said nothing, walking into his office and slamming the door. With a heavy sigh, Sakura waited for the coffee to finish. Once it was ready, Sakura propelled herself into his office and slammed everything down on his desk, wishing it was five o'clock already.

"Hey, fat-ass, try not to ruin my desk; it's expensive, you know." Madara commented as he reached for the first file.

'_Fat-ass, huh? I'll show you… bastard.' _She thought with her fists balled at her sides. A sly grin slipped its way across her lips as she took a step around his desk. Pausing for a second, Sakura batted her eyelashes at him. "Uchiha-kun…" she cooed in a sultry tone, causing Madara to blink and look up at her. She turned his swivel chair towards her as she leaned over, lips parted just slightly. Sakura plucked the coffee from his hand as she licked her lips.

Hot, his crotch was really hot. Madara looked down to see his scolding, hot coffee being poured into his lap.

"What the hell?" he hissed as he shot out of his chair and swatted at his pants, dark coffee staining his tan pants.

"You may want to change your pants, sir. Oh, and your meeting starts in five minutes." Sakura smiled and slammed in mug on the table.

"Mark my words, wench; I will make you pay for this." Sakura just walked out of his office and returned to her desk. About a minute later, Madara strode out of the office in a pair of red and black plaid pajama pants.

~xxx~

"_What are you doing this weekend, Sakura?" _the male on the phone asked.

"I don't have anything planned, dad." Sakura answered with a sigh as she continued to update contract files. "Ino's out of town and I'm finishing my last case now." She was still at work and it was nowhere close to five yet.

"_Would you mind if I stopped by? I haven't seen you in a month ." _He said with a small whine. Sakura hated it when he did that.

"Fine, if it'll keep you from crying your eyes out." She sighed again.

"_Perfect! Should I bring lunch then?" _

"I'll kill you if you don't." She growled at the phone. He chuckled.

"_I'll see you in a little bit, sweetheart."_

"Love you, daddy." Sakura hung up the phone and smiled. Hopefully, Madara stayed in his office… but then again, Sakura wished he would come out. She had told her father everything that happened so far and was interested to see what Kakashi's reaction would be to her temperamental boss. Little did she know, Madara was listening in; she did have her father on the speakerphone. Thirty minutes later, the phone rang.

"_Haruno-san, your father is here to see you."_ The woman on the line said.

"Thanks, Hinata-chan. I'll be right down." Sakura hung up the phone and rushed to the elevators. Standing with a bag full of takeout was Kakashi… dressed in his SWAT uniform, chatting with the shy girl at the counter. "Don't listen to anything he says because it probably came from Icha Icha." Sakura said as she walked up to them.

"I was just asking her about Neji-san's promotion." He defended with a smirk under his masked face. Sakura blinked.

"He did? When did that happen?" she asked with a smile. Sakura and Neji were really good friends, still are. So, why was she hearing about this now?

"It hasn't been made official yet." Hinata said with a small smile. "Mother is already planning the party… you can't talk her out of anything."

Kakashi smiled at the girl. "It was nice to see you again, Hinata-san. If you'll excuse us." He gave a polite bow before turning to his daughter. "Ready?"

"I'm starved." She smiled as they walked to the elevators.

~xxx~

Kakashi marveled at her desk. The giant cherry-oak furniture stood in stark contrast to the light grey walls and tan carpeting. Gunmetal grey filing cabinets stood against one wall along with a small sink and table. There was a door that led to Madara's inner office, not that Kakashi was going in there. To the left of that was a couch, two chairs and a low coffee table where Sakura was currently towards.

"Come on dad, he'll probably stay in his office for another hour… unless he left for lunch." She said with a grin.

"I never imagined you as a secretary." Kakashi said as he walked over and sat down on one of the chairs. "I always thought you would be a vet or doctor."

"Yes, well, maybe I should have gone to school for that instead of computer information and sciences." Sakura shrugged.

"You could have become SWAT like your dear old dad." Kakashi said with a grin as he unloaded the bag of food.

_Buzz--_

"_Wench, I need more coffee!"_ Madara shouted into the intercom.

"Yeah, yeah… I'll get your damn coffee." She hissed while giving the finger to his closed door.

"Let me take it in for you." Kakashi offered as he stood his full height.

"Ok." She chirped with a grin. "Just don't do anything drastic; I would like to keep my job." Sakura handed him the cup and watched as her father disappeared behind the glass door.

Imagine Madara's surprise when a uniform-clad, sliver-haired man walked into his office and set a steaming mug of coffee on his desk. Let alone, a man dressed in a SWAT uniform.

"And you are?" Madara asked, eyeing the man that stood with his hands in his pockets… was that a gun on his belt?

"My name is Hatake Kakashi, Sakura's father. You must be the infamous Uchiha Madara." Kakashi greeted, inclining his head in the man's direction.

"It seems she has you doing her work for her." Madara stated as he gestured to the mug of coffee.

"No," Kakashi said with a lazy smile creasing under his mask. "I offered to bring it in." His eyes hardened as he stared at Madara. Madara stilled for a moment then moved to stand.

"And why would you make such an offer?" the Uchiha asked as he moved around his desk.

"Because I wanted to meet my daughter's boss and…" Kakashi trailed off, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "I wanted to give you a message."

An elegant brow raised in question. "Hn." Madara crossed his arms over his chest.

"My daughter has a name and it's not wench. Continue to address her as such and I will arrest you for harassment." Kakashi nodded to Madara and walked towards the door. Just as he was about to leave, Kakashi stopped and turned around to face the fuming Uchiha. "Nice pajamas, by the way."

~xxx~

Ino grinned across the table at her friend after hearing the story (and almost glaring match) about Kakashi's talk with Madara. If wishes were horses, Ino would have a barn full of them.

"Is there anything else I need to know about?" the blonde asked with an even bigger grin. Sakura shook her head.

"No. That about covers it." She sighed and looked at her watch. "I should get going, Asshole-sama should be back from his meeting soon."

"Aww, don't leave me." Ino cried as they stood, their lunch breaks seemed to be getting shorter and shorter. The duo had spent the week going out to lunch together and talking about random things like Sakura's new shoes. Now heading back to the death trap that was work, the pair stepped into the elevator, still chatting.

"This weekend will be really fun though." Sakura commented offhandedly while adjusting her briefcase in her hand.

"Oh, it will be. Your birthday parties were always the best. Remember last year, your twenty-first? I've never seen you so drunk. And that blonde-haired guy from the bomb squad; oh, he was hot. Whatever happened to him?" Ino asked, hopping up and down like a crazed bunny.

"Deidara and I have an… on-again, off-again relationship. He's a good guy but he annoys the hell out of me."

"Sure he does." Ino said, voice dripping with sarcasm. They walked into Sakura's office, not bothering to check and see if Madara was there. "So the plan still stands?"

"Yeah. My dad is coming to pick me up for the party tomorrow. We'll head straight for the bar after work." Sakura said with a sigh, checking the messages on the machine.

"I'll see you there sweetie. Try to stay sober until I get there. It wasn't as fun last year when you were shit-faced drunk two hours into the party." The blonde chided as she walked to the door. "Later, Forehead."

"See you, Pig."

Madara stood listening by his door. Oh, this was just priceless.

~xxx~

The next day had Sakura a little worried. All week long, Madara hadn't said a thing. With it being Friday, Sakura couldn't help but feel nervous around her boss. Not a peep left his lips, not even in the morning when he would, usually, demand the day's files and coffee. She supposed she should thank Kakashi for the 'talk' he had with Madara. But then again… the silent treatment was kind of creepy.

It was 4:30 in the evening and Sakura was busy behind her computer when Madara walked out of his office.

"I have to leave early." He grumbled as he walked to the small closet and grabbed his jacket.

Sakura looked up from her computer and stared at him. "Um… have a nice weekend… I guess." She said, trying to be nice, yet failing as she gave him a suspicious look. Madara looked over his shoulder at her and smirked.

"Hn. Have a nice birthday." Then he left. Now Sakura was scared. She had never mentioned to him about her birthday, the party or anything else for that matter. Anything and everything about her life outside of work, she never mentioned to her boss. With a shiver, Sakura returned to her work.

Ten minutes passed and there was a knock on the office door.

"Come in." She called and looked up. And in walked two policemen.

~xxx~

Kakashi sat in the lobby, watching as people floated by less and less as the clock chimed 5:15. So… where was the birthday girl.

"Hatake-san, it is a pleasure to see you again." A soft baritone spoke from the elevators. Kakashi looked up to see Itachi and Fugaku walking towards him.

"Fugaku-sama, Itachi-san." Kakashi greeted with an incline of his head as he stood. "Have either of you seen Sakura?"

"I passed by her office on my way down. There was some loud music coming from her radio. It is possible that she could still be working." Itachi explained as he adjusted the coat slung over his arm. "If you wish, I could go check on her."

"I think I'll go with you." Kakashi stated, going into protective father mode.

"I will join you." Fugaku voiced as they headed to the elevator. "I wish to ask her about a case she corrected today." The trio stepped into the elevator and headed for the eleventh floor. They could hear the loud techno beat the second the doors opened. Walking up to the third closed door on the right, the three men paused… it sounded like someone was yelling. Quickly opening the door, they stopped in the doorway and stared.

"MADARA! YOU ARE SO DEAD! LET ME GO!!" Sakura yelled. On either side of her, the two 'policemen' were stripped down to banana hammocks and their, obviously fake' police hats as they danced next to her. She was handcuffed to the chair by the wrists and ankles, preventing her from running. One man was a lanky fellow with long brown hair. If Sakura had a type, he would fall into that category. While the other was… gross. The man was fat, greasy and going bald. And she could tell too, for he had put his hat one her head.

"What the hell is going on here?" Fugaku asked with a deep frown. The two strippers jumped in surprise, one of them reaching to turn off the music. Mortified, Sakura looked down at the ground. Her dad, the owner of the company she worked for and one of her good friends had just walked in on a lap dance she never wanted.

"It's Madara's fault." She said while trying to free her hands and legs. "Hey, these things are real. I can't break them!" she shouted at her tormentors.

"Is this true?" the older Uchiha asked the two men who were getting dressed. The brown-haired man shrugged.

"We never met our employer. All I know is that it was a man who asked for the two of us to come here and show the pretty girl a good time." He smiled.

"That's my daughter you were trying to molest." Kakashi growled. "I have half a mind to arrest the two of you for impersonating an officer. The two strippers stiffened, abandoning their dressing as they bowed deeply to the SWAT team captain.

"Can someone PLEASE untie me?" Sakura cried in her embarrassment. The skinny man un-cuffed her and stepped back. Rubbing her raw wrists, Sakura hissed and moved away from the two men. "I think I've been traumatized by this experience." She growled while crossing the room towards her father. He looked over the marks on her wrists and ankles; she was going to be fine.

"I will call security and have them escorted off the premises." Itachi said as his eyes narrowed in the men's direction.

"Come on Sakura, let's go to your party." Kakashi cooed as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I swear on all that is Holy… he will pay for this." Yes, payback is a bitch and she would be the one to deliver it to Madara on a sliver platter.

(**A/N: **Hello beautiful people. I hope you enjoyed the insane drama that is Sakura's work week. This chapter is dedicated to Rose, my favorite Irish reviwer. Don't forget to chck out the update for her story "Tell them I was still alive when you saw me", a yummy HidaSaku story that has captured my heart. I will be updating which ever story I have an idea for. So, don't get your hopes up. Love ya ;) KB)


	3. Chapter 3

(**A/N:** Thank you for sticking with me on this. Quick note: I have put 'Amnesia' and 'Serpentine Child' on hold until further notice. Sorry to disappoint my readers, but I have a bit of writers block for those stories. I promise I will return to them when I can. I don't want to half-ass it and botch the stories by putting up a crappy update. Again, I sincerely apologize. Now, for Sakura's payback…)

~xxx~

Surrounded by friends, Sakura recounted her experience with the two strippers to those at the table. Shisui and Naruto both had similar horror stricken faces as they listened. Neji… well, his eyes had widened a minute amount but said nothing. Ino sputtered, spitting her drink as she coughed and gagged. Sasuke sat still, eyes narrowed and jaw set as he gripped the table, knuckles turning white. And then there was Deidara…

"I'll kill him, YEAH!" he shouted, fists pounding the table in his fury. The explosives expert growled a few choice curse words as Sakura hugged his arm, trying to calm her ex.

"It's ok, Dei-kun. I'll think of something." Sakura cooed, placing a light kiss to his cheek. He turned to face her, blue eyes gleaming with tenderness. Everyone around them wanted to gag. They had been the odd couple dating, and now that they weren't… they were still odd. Had they not had the huge fight three months ago, the group of friends could have sworn they still were together.

"I don't care! He's going to pay for that, yeah." He hissed. She gave him a loving smile, patting his forearm with her small hand.

"I completely agree with you." With that said, Sakura pulled away from him (much to the relief of her friends) and stood on her chair. "Can I have your attention please?" she hollered over the crowed.

The bar they were in was packed full of people. Some from Sakura's work and most from District 13 police force. She smiled and waved at a few people she hadn't seen walk in.

"First off, I would like to thank all of you for coming tonight." Giving a cheesy grin as she held up her beer bottle. "Whom ever bought me this beer, I thank you."

"You're welcome, Kitten." A voice boomed from the back of the room.

"Thanks Kisame!" she smiled then schooled her face into a cool and calm state. "Next, my boss thought it would be funny as hell to get me strippers for my birthday." The room erupted into catcalls and clapping. Sakura held up to hand to quiet the room down. "Yeah, not funny when one of them was bigger than Choji; all greased up with body glitter and going bald."

"_EW_!" Anko shrieked, hand over he mouth as if ready to vomit.

"You're telling me!" she spat and shivered to emphasize her point. "Anyways, I want retribution. Shisui has some paper with him, I want everyone to give him an idea for payback."

"Within reason, Sakura-san." Fugaku spoke up. She nodded at his request.

"There's no need for paper." A sinister voice chuckled from the right. Sakura turned her head and met the gaze of… Morino Ibiki, the SWAT Commander.

"What did you have in mind, Morino-sama?"

"What kind of car does he drive?"

"A black BMW." Shisui supplied with a grin.

"You're not suggesting she steal it, are you?" Itachi questioned, one brow raised as Ibiki grinned and shook his head.

"Sarutobi, don't we have a few cars in the impound waiting to be auctioned off that fit the description?"

Said impound officer scratched his chin, thinking. "Yeah, three."

"Good." Ibiki intoned, picking up his beer and taking a swig. "The K-9 unit needs some practice, anyway." The smile that bloomed on Sakura's face could only be described as 'mad genius'.

"Morino-sama… you've just made my day."

~xxx~

Madara had been away on a business trip all week and was not looking forward to writing out weekly reports. Then he shrugged, remembering he had a secretary who could do it for him. Parking his baby (the beautiful car) in its usual spot, Madara reached for his briefcase and slip out of the diver seat. Absently, he wondered what his secretary would do about the strippers but then shrugged it off.

"Honestly, she doesn't have the balls to try and top that." He said to himself as he strode towards the elevators. A smirk made its way to his lips. Oh, he would love to see her try though. Madara saw her in the hallway, chatting with Shisui, Itachi and some guy with long blonde hair that was partially pulled up in a high ponytail. He scoffed. The guy was probably gay, anyway. A straight man with long hair… yeah, not in this lifetime. Itachi was the only exception besides himself, of course.

"I'll pick you up at seven, yeah." He heard the man say. Wait a minute… he knew that voice.

"Well, if my eyes don't deceive me. Deidara, it's been a while." Madara walked purposefully toward the groups with a lop-sided smirk. Sakura groaned as the men shook hands.

"Please tell me this is some kind of sick joke. My boyfriend and my boss _know_ each other?"

"Boyfriend?" Madara asked, brow quirked in amusement… almost.

"We just got back together last week." Deidara supplied, trying to hide the frown that threatened to pull at his lips.

"The two of you have dated before?"

Sakura scowled and crossed her arms. "I'm not explaining shit to you… especially after the strippers, bastard." Her glare was fix and heavy on Madara's person. "You know, Fugaku-sama wasn't happy about what he saw when he came to ask me about a case."

"He saw that, did he?"

"Yes, he did, along with Itachi-san _and_ my father." She growled. Deidara let his frown show as he wrapped an arm around her waist.

"So not cool, yeah." With his chin raised, Deidara let a sly smile slip on his lips. "One more offence and you'll have all of District 13 breathing down you neck, yeah."

"Hn." Madara turned away from the group and walked into the office.

"Alright guys, I'll get his keys and meet you in the parking deck in…" she trailed off, looking at her watch. "Ten minutes ought to be enough."

"Saddle up, we've got work to do, yeah." Deidara spoke into his radio. There was an affirmative from the other side.

~xxx~

As promised, Sakura came bolting into the parking deck with keys in hand. Shisui took them and drove off with Madara's car. The dummy car was brought in and took the place of the real one. And it was an exact match. Everything from the expensive sunglasses hooked on the rearview mirror to the vanity plates that read 'TOBI-1'. Perfect.

Man, she couldn't wait to see the look on Madara's face. She imagined he'd be so pissed he couldn't see straight or so distraught he'd start crying. Either way, this was going to be her greatest masterpiece yet. With a smug smile, Sakura crossed her arms and leaned against a concrete pillar.

"We'll take it from here, Sakura. Go on and get back to work." Kakashi said as he prodded his daughter back toward the elevators. She pouted cutely then stuck her tongue out at him.

"You're no fun." Then she was gone, disappearing behind the thick metal doors.

"Alright boys, time to get to work."

~xxx~

Sakura was practically pacing around the office after Madara left the office. Excited, nervous, pissed that it was taking so long; you name it and Sakura felt it. Footsteps in the hall made Sakura jump. She could hear Madara and Itachi talking. Making a b-line for her desk, Sakura almost tripped as she bounded for her chair. The door opened and Madara strode in and tossed a file at her.

"Gee, thanks." She grumbled as she bent over and picked up the papers that fell to the floor.

"More coffee--" the phone cut him off. Sakura picked it up, hiding the glint in her eyes.

"Asshole, it's for you." Sakura said, handing the receiver over to Madara.

"Uchiha Madara."

_"Sir, this is Inuzuka Kiba with the K-9 Unit. There's an issue with your car."_

"What's the problem with my car?" Madara growled into the phone as he looked at Sakura's shocked expression.

_"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to please come down here or be escorted by police."_ Kiba spoke, trying (very hard) to keep from laughing. Madara tossed the phone back to Sakura and sprinted out of the office.

"He's on his way down." Sakura chuckled.

_"Yeah, I think I got that when the phone hit something."_

"See you in a bit. Thanks a lot, Kiba-kun."

_"Not a problem, Sakura."_ She hung up the phone and smiled at Itachi. He nodded in return and they strode out of the office to see the damage.

~xxx~

Problem with his car? This wasn't what he was expecting when Madara exited the elevator. Everywhere he looked his eyes met police officers and dogs. Word must have spread because Fugaku, Sakura, Itachi and a bunch of other people from his floor were now in the parking deck.

"Just what the _fuck_ is going on here?" Madara shouted to the closest officer.

"Random drug search." A voice said. Madara turned towards the voice and glared.

"Your point?" he hissed, fists clinched at his sides.

Ibiki was loving this, trying to hold back his laughter. "Your car was pegged by the dogs, sir."

**"WHAT?"** Madara shouted, turning his attention to his baby. Only to see an officer open the door and allow his dog to hop on the driver seat. "This is ridiculous! The only paraphernalia in my car is a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Get. That. Mutt. Off. My. _SEAT_!"

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to step back and let my men do their job." Ibiki said calmly, one hand resting on his handcuffs to get Madara's attention. Reluctantly, Madara took a step back with his arms crossed and deep scowl on his thin lips.

"What's going on?" Sasuke whispered to Sakura as he watched Madara's stiff frame shake with fury.

"Payback." She whispered back, hiding her smile behind her hand. The trunk was popped, an officer pulled everything out and dumped it on to the cement ground along with the spare tire.

"Have you people no respect for people's property?!" Madara shouted… something broke as it fell to the ground, hopefully it wasn't his mother's birthday present. The front seat was pulled out of the car and ripped open, the stuffing tossed aside as the officers stripped the car. "What the hell are you doing?"

Itachi and Sasuke flew forward, preventing Madara from attacking the officers. Madara fought tooth and nail to get away from his cousins' grasp but they held strong.

"Sir, calm down or I will have to arrest you for obstruction." Ibiki glared as the passenger seat was ripped out and searched.

"I'm going to file a complaint!" Madara hissed, still struggling in his cousins' grasp. "I know some powerful attorneys. I'll sue the whole damn DEPARTMENT!"

"You're welcome to try, sir." Ibiki said with a smirk. The back seat was ripped into and the hood taken off. Madara's car was being taken apart and there was nothing he could do about it but watch. An hour later, the search was called off.

"We've found nothing, sir." An officer said as he led his dog back to the van. Madara was seething in anger. All of that… for absolutely nothing.

"Alright, pack it up. We're heading out." Ibiki called to his men and offered a card to Madara.

"What's this?"

"Our insurance will cover the damages." With that, Ibiki walked away; leaving the wrecked and torn apart car behind.

**"Get back here you bald, pompous shit! I'm going to murder you!"**

And just when Madara thought there was nothing left of his baby, an exact match zoomed towards him, Shisui's smug grin behind the wheel. The car came to a halt at his feet and Shisui stepped out.

"Missing something?" he asked as he tossed the keys to Madara. Madara flung himself at his car, hugging the hood.

**"MY BABY!!"** Someone giggled from behind him. In a split second, it dawned on him. He whirled around and glared at Sakura. She let out a squeak and jumped behind Fugaku for protection. "You… _wench_! I ought to have you fired for this." He hissed, seeing red as the seconds ticked by. Sakura's head poked out from behind Fugaku's arm and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"That's for the strippers, bastard. And you _can't_ fire me!"

"That's enough." Fugaku groaned, their banter was giving him a headache. "There will be no more of this. I will not stand for this kind of behavior… from either of you. Make amends and get on with your work." He walked away from the large group. The mass of people followed him, most talking to the stairs to get back to their respective office's. Soon there was no one left but Madara and Sakura. Neither one spoke as they walked to the elevator.

"I wouldn't have thought of that." Madara commented offhandedly, tapping the button for the lobby.

Sakura smirked. "Me neither. It was Commander Morino's idea."

"How long did it take you to plan that?"

"The entire time you were away." Sakura answered, tapping a finger to her chin. "You have to admit, it was good." She said with a big shit-eating grin.

"Hn." Madara scoffed, turning his head away. "Whatever." Sakura laughed openly.

"Victory is mine."

(A/N: Happy Birthday Rose! This wonderful piece of payback is just for you. I know it's not until the 12th, but hey, you're in Ireland and I'm in the States.)


	4. Chapter 4

I Bet You Can't

(A/N: Hello beautiful people. Welcome to chapter 4! Today on X-Play… lol. Anyway, thanks for sticking with me and reviewing. Now, I have an announcement. If you've read "Tell them I was still alive when you saw me" by TheRoseandtheDagger… then you'll want to read my one-shot for said story. It's called "A Midnight Serenade." Read and comment please, I would like to have your opinion on it. Also, I wrote another one-shot called "ANBU Anthem" you should check out. Alright, back to the story. Stop being so pushy!!)

~xxx~

The world could not save Sakura from the narrowed eyes glaring through her. He was still pissed about the car thing; go figure. Madara hadn't really spoken to her after that (excluding the elevator conversation) and continued to ignore the pink-haired secretary. Today, however, he could no longer ignore what was right in front of him… for she had asked a small, unassuming question that pertained to 'His Baby'.

"What does 'TOBI-1' mean?" she had asked him. Never mind the fact that he swore to himself that he'd never speak to her again. But when the question referred to his dear car… Madara just about snapped.

"Why the fuck does it matter to you?" he hissed at her, eyes narrowing farther. So much so, Sakura thought his irises had turned red. Scowling right back at him, Sakura crossed her arms and turned her head to the side.

"Gee, it was just a question."

"You led me to believe that my car was being demolished before my eyes… why wouldn't I get pissed off when you ask such things?" he spat with a healthy glare. She fixed him with a glare of her own.

"If you hadn't decided to bring in strippers, your car wouldn't have been involved!" she growled right back at him. "Come to think of it… what the hell did I do to deserve your scorn anyway?"

"Just being here is enough." He said turning his gaze back to the file on his desk. Now, where was he…?

"Is that supposed to answer my question?"

"Hn." Madara responded without looking at her.

"Grr… I give up. Page me if you need me to push you out the window or something." Sakura left his office and returned to his desk. With a mighty sigh, Sakura opened the first file and began making the necessary adjustments.

~xxx~

Hidan laughed hysterically as he watched the video again. Unable to believe what he was seeing, the white-haired male rewound the tape and played it again. Ok, so, he's seen it four times already… bat that didn't stop him from playing it a fifth time. The television clicked off as the screen displayed Madara's stricken expression when a car seat was ripped apart.

"I think twice was enough." Madara growled and tossed the remote onto the table. Hidan continued to chuckle from his place on the couch.

"And your secretary put all of this together?" he asked with a quirked brow and cocky grin. "I bet she's fucking fat and scaly like Medusa, too." Hidan gave a sarcastic sneer then cringed at a mental image he decided not to share.

"Haruno-san is quite pleasing to the eyes, actually." Sasori said as he stood and walked to the mini-fridge in the corner of the room.

"Haruno? As in Haruno Sakura?" Hidan inquired with a grin. "She's a fox! Oh my Jashin! Have you ever seen that girl in a bikini?" Sasori shook his head while Madara growled and returned to his desk, thanking whatever God was listening that said secretary was out to lunch.

"How the hell would you know what she looks like in a bathing suit?" Madara asked as he glared at his long time 'friend'.

"Oh, come the fuck on! You've been to Itachi's pool parties; she's been at most of them with that fine, tight body in those little pieces of cloth." Hidan chuckled, obviously enjoying the look of abhor on Madara's face.

"Forget I even asked." Madara stated with a frown.

"I have a picture… wanna see?" Hidan asked as he reached for his wallet. It was Sasori who moved first, snatching the picture from Hidan. Said picture contained the abovementioned pink-haired secretary, sporting a black bikini which hugged her curves perfectly as she winked and smiled at the camera. Hidan was in the picture as well, a wide grin on his face as Sakura pretended to squeeze his bicep. In the background, Sasori could clearly see a glaring Deidara with his hands clinched at his sides.

Ignoring that minor detail, Sasori returned his gaze to the - then eighteen - girl. Long, toned legs led up to her tight, perfect rump. Her porcelain skin glinted with small specks of water from a water war. Tightly packed abdominal muscles clearly visible between the ebony bikini that covered a small portion of her body. The top had a little red cloud pattern printed on it and small clouds on the sides of the bottoms.

"Lucky man." Sasori offered as he openly gawked at the photo.

"You can give it back now, damn it." Hidan grumbled as he reached for the photo but Sasori just held it out of reach.

"Give what back?" a new voice asked from the doorway. Standing all of six foot six, Kakuzu's towering form was intimidating. But these guys knew each other since… grade school.

"A picture of Haruno-san in a bikini." Sasori said as he waved said photo with an air of nonchalant.

"Let me see it." Kakuzu about demanded. Everyone knew he had been harking on the day she turned eighteen… but Deidara beat him to it. The bastard.

"Don't you fucking dare masturbate to that picture, you shit-faced freak!"

"I will give this back to you when I damn well feel like it." Kakuzu replied smoothly before snatching it from Sasori. Red and green eyes scanned the photo as a sly grin creased the corners of his mask. Then Kakuzu took out his cell phone and snapped a picture of the picture before giving it back to Hidan. "I hear she's back with the dip-shit for the fourth time." He grumbled as his arms crossed over his chest.

"It won't last long." Sasori commented with a shrug. "It will end like it always has with Deidara begging for her to come back."

"How is it that you all know her so well?" Madara piped up with a scowl.

"Are you fucking kidding? One cannot miss a fine piece of ass like that walking around." Hidan hollered as he stood from the couch.

"You're one to talk… you fucked that cow, what's-her-name?" Kakuzu commented with a chuckle.

"Ugh, don't remind me. Karin was a one-night-stand and I was fucking drunk."

"A likely story." Sasori teased with a light chuckle.

"Besides, she married that Hozuki Suigetsu kid last year." Hidan waved a hand to dismiss the subject.

"Anyways, just what do you idiots suggest I do about that wench?" Madara broke in before more could be said.

"Uchiha-sama will not allow for anymore pranks." Sasori said, turning his attention to the Uchiha at the desk. "I suggest you win her over and put the fighting behind you."

"I sense a money-making opportunity." Kakuzu murmured with a glint in his eyes.

"I've got an idea." Hidan said suddenly as he leaned against the backside of the couch. Everyone stared at him with the obvious 'bullshit' expression on their faces. Hidan just shrugged and grinned. "Look, we know Deidara sucks at being an attentive boyfriend - that's why they keep breaking up - once they break up again, take his place."

"Hell no!" Madara protested immediately.

"If you don't, I will. And will not be nice about your 'pet name' for her." Kakuzu said… ok, he demanded. Man, he really was hard pressed to have Sakura to himself. Can we say 'stalker'?

"Fine. I'll do it." Madara conceded defeat.

"Ah, but there's a stipulation." Sasori informed with a slight smirk. "You have until the Christmas party to get everything sorted between the two of you."

"Is that a bet?"

"I bet you can't do it." Kakuzu said as he pulled a hundred dollar note from his wallet.

Madara glared at Kakuzu. "Fine with me. I bet I can." The phone rang suddenly, making the men in the room jump.

"I've got it." Sakura called from the other side of the door. Apparently, she had just returned from lunch.

(A/N: I know it's a little short. But it's very important for future chapters. Let me know what you think, please and thank you!)


	5. Chapter 5

Decisions, Decisions

(**A/N**: Thank for waiting for this chapter. I'm so sorry it took me so long to get this out. Well, it's official; I'm fucking crazy! I started a new story. It's a PeinSaku story called **'City At War'**, feel free to check it out. But, if you do, you have to leave a review and let me know what you think. Anyways, back to the story at hand.)

~xxx~

Madara scowled at his computer screen. Blue; the damn thing froze and turned _BLUE!_ Now he couldn't get any work done. Just great. Growling in frustration, Madara turned away from the computer and buzzed Sakura.

"Yeah." She answered.

"Come in here for a second." He said, glaring at the intercom; no respect!

"I'll be right in," she said and the line went dead. The glass door opened seconds later and in walked Sakura with pad and pen in hand. "What can I do for you?"

"You went to computer school, correct?" he asked as he stood and tossed a file on his desk.

_'Duh, jackass.'_ She thought bitterly. Sakura nodded and walked over to his desk as he turned the screen towards her. "Holy crap… blue screen of death." She whispered as she walked around his desk, standing next to him.

"Can you fix the hunk of junk or not?" Madara snapped as he crossed his arms.

"Yes!" she snapped back. "Gee, there's no need to get all pissed off." Sakura grumbled something under her breath as she leaned over his desk and began tapping at the keys.

'Might as well make nice.' Madara thought as he watched her. "I'm going out for lunch, want anything?" Sakura stopped typing and slowly turned her head to look at him. The look on her face was priceless; eyes wide, mouth agape and was that a tiny blush on her cheeks?

"No thanks," she said after a moment. "I packed my lunch today." Madara nodded mutely and turned to leave.

"Why did you pack a lunch, if I may ask?" he said, stopping at the door and looking over his shoulder.

"One of Kakuzu-san's money saving ideas." Sakura answered as she worked.

_'Figures,'_ he thought and left the office.

~xxx~

"We are not going and that's final, Dei-kun." Sakura about shouted into the speakerphone with a growl.

_"Why not, yeah?"_ the blonde asked on the other line. _"You said we should go out more, yeah."_

"I am not going to a bar to watch other women mud wrestle!" this time, she did shout causing Kakuzu and Madara to look at her with raised brows.

_"But Saku-"_

"No! We are not going and if you go… we're finished; for good!" she spat. There was a pause on the other line.

_"Alright, you win, yeah." _Deidara sighed into the phone. _"What would you like to do instead?" _Sakura glanced up to see Madara and Kakuzu turn their backs to her, clearly listening in.

"I'll call you back with my answer, ok?"

_"Alright, yeah. Talk to you later, then." _He hung up before Sakura could say anything else. She slammed the receiver down, hanging up on the speakerphone and growled.

"Every single time! I swear I'm going to kill him." Her fists banged the desk, shaking its contents as she growled.

"I'd hate to say I told you so… but I told you so." Kakuzu said as he placed a file on her desk.

"I should listen to you more often." She snapped and glared up at him. "Sorry," she mumbled and turned back to her computer. "Oh, I fixed your computer, Uchiha-san. A virus caused it to crash."

"Thank you." He said and motioned for Kakuzu to follow him.

"So, it doesn't seem like she's responding to your… 'kindness'." Kakuzu chuckled as the door closed.

"Women." Madara scoffed as he sat down at his desk and turned the monitor on. "I asked if she wanted anything for lunch but she said she had packed one; your idea." With a raised brow, Madara crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair. "Are you _trying_ to sabotage me?"

"Not at all." Kakuzu answered as he sat down. "Sakura asked me to help her budget her money better what… last week? This was before the bet."

"Why?" asked the raven haired man as he scowled, lips curled up like a dog bearing teeth.

"She said something about moving to a different apartment complex, needed to save up some extra money." Kakuzu supplied with a roll of his shoulders. Honestly, he thought her current residence was top notch… he just did not anticipate her seeking him out for advice; any kind of advice. Not that he minded in the least.

"This is getting ridiculous." Growled Madara as he leaned forward in his chair and gripped the edge of his desk, knuckles turning white. He figured that he just didn't know the rosette all that well. And there was no chance in hell she was going to talk to him about herself. Unfortunately… this meant he needed help and he hated to admit that he did.

"Suck it up." Kakuzu sneered as he stood. "If you really want to win this bet, I suggest you talk to the Yamanaka girl." With that, he left the glaring Uchiha alone.

~xxx~

"… Then he said I had the most beautiful eyes he's ever seen." The blonde speaker gave a wistful sigh with stars in her eyes. Currently indulging in daydreams as she spoke, Ino gabbed her mouth off to her pink-haired friend as the ate lunch.

"That's Shisui for you; he'd say anything to get into your pants." Sakura huffed as she took a bite out of her homemade sandwich. "If you ask me," she continued after she swallowed. "I think you and Gaara-san would make a cute couple. Shisui's more of the love-them-and-leave-them type. Gaara's a real sweetheart… once you get passed the devil-may-care attitude of his."

"Thanks but no thanks… he kinda scares me still. I mean, yes; he had every right to get loud about his secretary spreading rumors about the two of them together. I just think he took it a little too far." Ino said as she took a sip of her diet Pepsi. Sakura set down her coke and smiled.

"That's where you and I differ my friend. I think he was totally in the right. Who cares if Gaara got loud? Matsuri got what was coming to her." Sakura defended with a raise of her chin.

"Just because you're all… buddy-buddy with a lot of the guys we work with, doesn't mean you should defend them when they're wrong." The blonde snapped, gabbing her finger at her long-time friend.

"Oh please. You've obviously missed me telling off Neji and his destiny crap… or fate… or whatever it was." Sakura replied with a sneer. By no means was she afraid to speak her mind to anyone… well, except to her dad and Fugaku-sama.

"Anyways," Ino sighed with a roll of her eyes. "Are you busy tonight? Hinata got tickets to go see Lady Gaga tonight and-"

"Not a chance in hell… even if I wasn't busy. I can't stand Lady-gag-me-with-a-spoon!" said the pink-haired girl with a glare.

"Right. I forgot."

"Besides," Sakura began, "Dei-kun is supposed to take me out tonight." Suddenly, Ino was nose-to-nose with Sakura with a Cheshire grin on her lips.

"And just where are you two going tonight, hm?"

Sakura's pride wilted as she sat back in her chair. "I don't know… we may just not do anything tonight."

"Again, huh?" Ino asked patting her friend's hands as Sakura nodded slowly. "Look, just have him come over for dinner and watch a movie. Deidara's the kind of guy you have to keep a tight leash on or he'll just run away." Sakura snorted at her words.

"Then why does he keep coming back?" it was a rhetorical question at best.

"Because you keep letting him. I swear if you break it off with him again, it had better be for good this time!" snapped the blonde as she stood and banged her hands on the table.

"Ok, ok, God… don't get your panties in a bunch over my love life."

"What love life? You've been seeing the same guy on and off for the last four years. Give some other guy a chance!"

"I second that!" Shisui shouted from two tables over, he was seated with Itachi and Madara. Sakura groaned and left the cafeteria in a hurry.

~xxx~

"Trouble in paradise?" Madara commented as he entered the office, a smug look on his face. Sakura glared at him.

"That's none of your fucking business." She growled, slamming a finished file on the 'out' bin.

"Someone's touchy today. Mind telling me about it?"

"Go to hell!" she snapped and stood from her desk, flinging his messages at him. "Your mother called and wanted to know if you two were still on for dinner. She expects a call back with your answer." Madara sighed heavily as he watched Sakura yank open the filing cabinet and rifle through it.

"Mother's, huh? Never know when to cut the cord."

**"FUCK!" **Sakura shouted suddenly. "Thank you _so_ much for reminding me." She snapped and turned towards him.

"Hn?" it was actually a question instead of the normal Uchiha grunt.

"I have to visit my mother soon, her birthday's tomorrow." She seemed kind of sad when she said that but then she was glaring at him again. "Why the sudden interest in my personal life?" Sakura demanded with her hands on her hips. And before Madara could mutter one word, Sakura held up a hand and turned her head away from him with her eyes closed. "I'll make this perfectly clear." She said, tilting her head towards him with a narrowed gaze. "Keep your nose out of things where it doesn't belong or so help me God, _you'll regret the day you crawled out of your mother's womb._"

~xxx~

Sakura closed the door to her apartment with a long, tired sigh. Tossing her keys on the table by the answering machine, Sakura hit the play button and leaned against the wall.

_"You have two new messages." _The mechanical feminine voice chimed then beeped as the first message played.

_"Saku-chan, I'm sorry I made you mad, yeah. I promise I'll make it up to you. I love you, yeah! Oh, expect me around seven." _That was Deidara for sure. Honestly, she didn't feel like dealing with him right now but is was date night… so, she kinda had to. It wasn't like her to just cancel something last minute.

_"Yo! It's your dear old dad. I'm sure you're aware of what tomorrow is, so I'll skip that. I was wondering if you wanted to go with me or arrive separately? Call me when you get this, ok? Love you, sweetheart."_ Sakura smiled down at the answering machine. Leave it to Kakashi to make her smile, even through the answering machine. Sakura picked up her phone and dialed her father as she kicked off her shoes, heading for the kitchen.

"Good evening, daddy. I got your message." Sakura said sweetly into the receiver.

_"And how is my pumpkin doing today?" _Kakashi asked with a light chuckle.

"I'm ok, I guess" She answered while thumbing through the shelves for dinner items. Domburi it is. She decided with a click of her tongue.

_"You don't sound too thrilled. Troubles with _Dei-chan _again?"_

"Not really. Just a long day." She answered with a sigh. "Although, I'm half tempted to kick his ass… again."

_"He's not forcing you to do… un-lady-like things is he? If so, I'll just have to beat you to the punch. And yes, that pun was intended." _Kakashi hissed into the phone. Sakura had to laugh.

"No daddy, it's nothing like that but you'd be the first to know if anything like that was happening."

_"I'm not sure I like the sound of that." _He grumbled.

"Dad, seriously. It's not like that. It's just…" she trailed off, not exactly sure how to word her thoughts.

_"Take your time, I'm not doing anything important." _Right at that moment, something crashed to the floor. _"Shit! Pakkun, clean it up." _Kakashi sighed.

"You were never very good at cooking, dad." Sakura giggled. "Really dad, I just don't think Deidara and I are… right for each other and I don't want to hurt his feelings by breaking things off when we just got started."

_"Again." _He corrected. _"Listen honey, do what you feel is best at the right time and not a moment later. And if that means you have to call in the big guns -meaning me- do it." _Kakashi had taken on his fatherly yet loving tone that Sakura could not argue with; she loved him too much for that.

"You're a wise old man, you know that?" she joked while pulling out a pot and a pan from the oven.

_"I'm not that old." _He sighed.

"Anyways, I called to tell you that I want to go with you. I've got a three day weekend this week."

_"When should I pick you up?"_

"Um… around eight and don't be late. You hear me?" she said, glaring at the pan since she couldn't glare at him directly.

_"You got it." _He answered. She could just picture him giving her a salute and she chuckled at the image. _"See you tomorrow."_

~xxx~

Madara stalked into his office at six-thirty, having forgotten his briefcase in his office. The wonders of a hectic workday. Of course, he spent most of the day pondering just as to how he could get close to Sakura without giving himself away. Maybe Kakuzu was right, he needed to speak with Ino to better understand his firecracker of a secretary. But how the hell was he supposed to confront the blonde? He had it on good authority that said blonde carried pepper spray in her bag, courtesy of Haruno Sakura.

"… Yeah, I'll look into it this weekend." A voice said from down the hall. Madara snatched up his briefcase, that Sakura had conveniently placed on her desk before she left, and made a b-line for the door. "That won't be a problem, Kisame-san. Yes, I'll fax it from home once it's finished. Enjoy your holiday, sir. Bye." Ino closed her cell phone and hit the button for the elevator.

"Let me guess, Kisame forgot to renew the Q.E.D reports again?" Madara asked as he approached her. Ino nearly jumped out of her skin.

"_Kami!_ Don't. Do. That!" she seethed with a hand over her heart, chest heaving as she gasped raggedly in an effort to calm herself. Madara smirked as he eyed her. "You're here a little late, don't you think?" he inclined his head at her question.

"Left my briefcase here." Madara said as he held up the abovementioned item. The chime of the elevator went off signaling its arrival. The stainless steel doors slid open with a mechanical squeak. He motioned for her to enter first then followed and pressed the button for the lobby. The door slid closed, incasing the duo in complete silence, save the soft hum of the elevator's trip downward. "I have to say; your friend is something else. I don't believe I've ever met someone with such a strong wit about them." Madara offered offhandedly.

Ino snorted. "You've only seen the half of it. She learned everything she knows from her father." She supplied with a wicked grin. "By the way… why are you so mean to her? Sakura's done nothing wrong and it's quite unfair of you to treat her this way." Which was true. He had no probable cause to treat Sakura like she was some subservient female that he could order about as he saw fit. And for the sake of the bet, he had to amend things.

"I'm afraid that she and I have gotten off on the wrong foot." He said, gripping his briefcase tightly in his fist.

"I'm surprise that Kakashi-san hasn't killed you yet." Ino grumbled, hugging her purse closer to her chest. "I mean, when Deidara practically threw himself at some other woman, Kakashi-san nearly beat him to death. Why Sakura keeps taking him back is beyond me."

"The two of you are close, no?" he asked, one brow quirked upward as he slanted his obsidian gaze towards her.

"I've known Sakura since we were six, so yeah, we're pretty close." She answered, leaning against the elevator wall. Damn, this was one long trip to the lobby. Madara took a deep breath and straightened his spine, it was now or never.

"Forgive me for being so forward but could you possibly tell me more about Haruno-san?"

"And just why in the _Sam hell _should I do that?" she snapped, glaring at him with sapphire pools. Madara sighed as he rubbed his forehead with his free hand.

"I upset her this afternoon and I intended to apologize but I know nothing about her to do so, properly."

"… And you just thought I'd cough up the info if you saw me?" she asked with an incredulous stare fixed on his face. "_Wow!_ You're really thick, you know that?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're dense. And for an Uchiha, that makes you _dumber_ than a _box of rocks_." Ino growled, scowling at him. Madara scowled right back at her, stuffing his free hand in his pocket to keep from striking her.

"What would you like?" he asked after a brief bout with silence. Ino blinked up at him.

"What?"

"I mean, what would you like in exchange for the information?" he elaborated, rolling his eyes as the elevator finally came to rest at the lobby. They stepped onto the marble floors and headed for the parking garage at a slow pace. Ino fumbled through her purse for a pen before scribbling something on the back of one of Kisame's business cards.

"What's this?" he asked, pausing in mid-step as e tried to decipher her bubbly handwriting.

"My address." She answered casually while flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

"If you intend on getting me into bed with you for information, _you are sorely mistaken_." He growled, shaking his head as if to clear it… or was that a disgusted shiver?

"Oh, Kami… **no**!" she nearly shrieked, surprising the night security guards at the front desk. "My standards are way higher than that."

"And they would include my cousins Shisui and Sasuke?" he asked with a wicked sneer. Ino merely scoffed and crossed her arms.

"Whatever. Look, just show up at ten tomorrow morning and you'll get your information." She said and continued on her way to the parking deck. "Oh!" she spun around suddenly. "And be dressed in something you don't really care for. I plan on making you work for it, buster." With that, she turned away from him and hurried to her car.

_"Ah, shit.." _he hissed and stomped towards his BMW with deep frown on his thin lips.

(**A/N**: I am _so_ sorry it took me so long to put this up but I reached my document limit and I needed a bit of a break. Again, check out **'City At War' **and let me know what you think. Don't miss the next chapter _'The Price for Information'_. You'll get to see a whole new side to Madara you never thought possible or you'll miss it.)


	6. Chapter 6

The Price for Information

(**A/N**: Alright, thank you for joining me and for the reviews on the last chapter. You guys wanted to see Ino give Madara a run for his money, so you got it. And I promised that you'd get to see a side of Madara never thought possible, and so you shall. I hope you enjoy and please, keep up the reviews; they are my inspiration to continue.)

~xxx~

Madara sat at the kitchen table with a the day's paper spread out on the table and a cup of steaming coffee in hand. But he was neither drinking the dark brew or reading the paper. He was glaring at the wall with a deep scowl on his lips as a barely suppressed growl rumbled at the back of this throat. Madara was not looking forward to whatever the Yamanaka girl had in store for him. Why he even agreed to work for the bimbo was beyond him… but then he figured the only way to win the ridiculous bet was to get in good with Sakura's best friend.

"Damn you Kakuzu… you arrogant asshole." Madara hissed in a deep biting tone that would scar children for life.

"Aniki?" a voice called from the kitchen entrance. Madara turned to see his younger brother standing with his cane pressed against the bottom of the kitchen counter. Only two years younger than Madara, Uchiha Izuna was a spitting image of his older brother… only blind from a childhood accident. "Is something the matter?" asked the blind man as his cane tapped against the floor, making his way to the table. Madara stood smoothly and gently grasped Izuna's free hand, leading him to sit at the table.

"Everything is fine, otouto. I was just thinking over some things Kakuzu was talking about." Madara answered, any trace of irritation was absent from his voice.

"It certainly didn't sound like it, aniki." Izuna joked, cracking a smile as he leaned back in his chair while Madara sat down.

"Just some work issues we need to work over."

"If I didn't know better, I'd say the two of you were fitting over a girl." Izuna said with his head cocked to the side.

"Trust me otouto, it's nothing like that." Madara sighed lightly, trying to keep the frustration he felt from reaching his voice. Izuna was like a human lie-detector; one slight trimmer of the voice would alert the blind man and he'd be on anyone like white on rice… or flies on shit, depending on which metaphor you preferred. Switching gears, Madara patted his brother's hand and reached for his coffee.

"Can we visit father today?" Izuna spoke suddenly, blind eyes, behind dark glasses, turned to Madara as if he could really see him.

"If you really want to, but we have to be back here by a quarter to ten."

"Alright." Izuna smiled, clasping Madara's fingers in a tight hold as they stoop from the table and left the kitchen.

~xxx~

Sakura smiled softly at the polished marble stone before her, her head resting against Kakashi's shoulder as they stood on freshly cut grass. Every year they would come here to see Rin, and every year they would talk to the stone, telling it everything that happened while they were away. Placing flowers in front of the marble angel statue, Sakura touched her fingers to her lips and pressed them against the sun-warmed stone.

"Hi mommy, I've missed you." She smiled while clearing grass clippings off the stone. "I've got a new job and my boss is pain in my butt." Sakura laughed lightly as her smile dimmed, turning to a deep frown. "Oh, Kama-sama! I did nothing wrong and he acted like a complete jerk. First it was calling me a wench then he said I was fat. The moron even went so far as to get strippers to handcuff me to my chair for a forced lap dance, yuck!" she cringed, sitting down on the grass in front of the stone. Kakashi sat with her as Sakura continued to rant about working for Madara Uchiha.

Six rows back and seven plots to the right, Madara sneezed as he and Izuna stood before the grave of their father. With his hands stuffed in his pockets, Madara sighed softly as he watched his younger brother search for the headstone and touch in lightly. Their father wasn't the most loving man, much like his older brother, Fugaku, but he had tried to make up for it on his deathbed. Though Madara knew that he was sincere in his apology… he just couldn't bring himself to forgive the man he called 'dad'. More of a personal issue, if you asked him.

"I know you're still not comfortable with coming here… but he's still our father." Izuna said quietly with his head bowed.

"I don't come here for him. I come here for you and mother." Madara responded, coming up to stand right next to Izuna. "He's the reason why you're blind."

"No. I'm blind because I chose to get in the way."

_~Flashback~_

_Their father was drunk again, accusing Midori, their mother, of cheating on him. Same old story, different day. Eleven-year-old Madara stood by the door to his parents' bedroom, watching through the crack in to door jam as the drunken bastard swung at his mother._

_"Please, Roku, it's not what you think!" Midori begged as she scurried away from the broken bottle. Unfortunately, she tripped over her own feet and fell by the door close to where Madara stood. Roku closed in on her, grinning as he raised the busted, sharp bottle above his head._

_In that moment, everything went deathly quiet. Madara watched with wide eyes, unable to believe what he was witnessing. Nine-year-old Izuna had jumped into the fray and stood his ground against their father, he looked so small compared to their father's towering form. And then the bottle came down in a lightning quick motion. There was a shout of agony before the young boy fell, clutching at his bleeding eyes as he cried out for Madara. The sickening sounds of blood droplets plopping on hardwood made Madara shake with fury._

_And Madara lost all train of thought._

_Rushing into the room, Madara tackled Roku to the ground and pummeled him in the face repeatedly as he sat on his father's chest while screaming at him._

_"You bastard! Look at what you've done. You fucking BAST-"_

_~End flashback~_

Madara jolted back to reality as Izuna grabbed his arm lightly.

"Are you alright, aniki?" Izuna asked, brows furrowed over his black-framed glasses. Madara took a calming breath before putting an arm over Izuna's shoulders.

"I'm fine, otouto."

Back on the hill, Kakashi helped Sakura up and waited for her to brush the grass off of her backside as they prepared to leave. He draped an arm over his shoulders, pulling out his favorite reading material as they walked down the hillside. Kakashi chuckled softly to himself, passing an elaborate mausoleum of white and black marble.

"What's so funny?" Sakura asked, rolling her eyes when she caught sight of the orange covered book in his free hand.

"I was just thinking to myself." He answered, waving his book with a nonchalant sigh.

"Oh? About what?"

"I think you like him. You're enjoying these pranks a bit too much, getting all riled up just talking about him, Sakura… same way your mother got me." Kakashi intoned, his visible eye crinkling in the tell-tail sign of happiness. Sakura jumped away from him, shaking with anger as her face turned bright red.

"Don't even joke about something like that!" she seethed, one hand on her hips and the other jabbed him in arm with more force than necessary. "That's not funny, buster!"

"Well, well, well… look at what we have here." A voice called from the right. Sakura turned and snarled at the sight.

"If it isn't the bane of my existence." Her arms crossed over her chest as Madara and another man walked towards them. Wait a second… the other guy was blind. An elegant brow rose in question as the two men stopped just a few feet away.

"I can't say that this is a pleasant surprise, we are in a cemetery after all." Madara intoned lightly, shrugging as if it were normal to find his employee in a graveyard. Of all the places they could have bumped into each other, it just had to be in a cemetery. An odd thought struck him then. "I thought you said you were visiting your mother today." The color drained from Sakura's face as she took a subtle step closer to Kakashi.

"We just did." She said, the slightest of trimmers in her abnormally quiet voice. Izuna was able to pick up on what others could not hear.

"Oh." He spoke softly. "I'm sorry for your loss." Izuna bowed deeply to them, cane digging into the ground as his weight shifted.

"Thank you." Kakashi spoke, holding Sakura's hand tightly. "I suppose you are here for the same reason and we offer our condolences." They bowed low to the two Uchiha men.

"Our father actually." Izuna sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh, forgive my manners. My name is Izuna, I'm Madara's brother." Sakura smiled brightly, taking Izuna's extended hand.

"I'm Haruno Sakura and this is my father Hatake Kakashi." A dark brow raised over black frames.

"Wait a second. You're the girl who made Madara believe his car was being demolished? The Haruno Sakura?" the younger Uchiha asked with a sly grin.

"The one and only." Sakura said with a smile.

"Don't get her started, Izuna." Madara cut in, taking a hold of Izuna's arm. "We have to get going now. I'll see you on Monday."

"Sure thing, Mr. Boss-man!" she replied with a sarcastic shout. Faintly she heard Izuna laugh, watching the pair stop as the younger Uchiha doubled over in laughter.

"Oh Kami-sama, mom would get a kick out of her."

~xxx~

Madara parked his BMW in the turn-around section of Ino's driveway and sighed heavily. He gripped the steering wheel tightly, bringing his forehead to rest on the space between his hands as he cursed loudly. Why did he agree to do this? For all he knew, she could have him cut down a tree, plant flowers for her or worse… paint a bathroom pink. Opening the car door, Madara stood smoothly and slammed it shut before pressing the lock button on the keypad. He walked across the concrete driveway to the front door, passing her mint green Jeep as he went.

'Oh joy, here we go.' He thought as his index finger pressed the glowing doorbell button. Not two seconds later the door shot open and Yamanaka Ino appeared, glaring at him like he had just killed her puppy.

"You're late!" she hissed, eyes narrowing slightly as she stared him down.

"What are you talking about? It's ten o'clock and I'm here." Madara retorted, glaring right back at her. Ino was not intimidated in the least.

"I told you ten sharp… you're fifteen seconds late."

"Ten o'clock is ten o'clock, Yamanaka." He hissed. Really, fifteen seconds was a drop in the bucket for the number of times she had shown up at work… and hour late. How was fifteen seconds no different than an hour? At least he showed up.

"Whatever." Ino sighed and waved her manicured hand. Stepping onto the front stoop, Ino closed the front door and locked it. She brushed passed him, grumbling to herself as she walked down the steps. Ino stopped and turned. "Don't just stand there, come on." She waved both of her hands, motioning to her car. "We don't have all day, you know." Madara sighed and followed reluctantly.

"Where are we going?" he asked , opening the door and sliding into the seat.

"The mall for the biggest sale of the season!"

~xxx~

Seated in the food court, Madara munched on some pretzels as Ino downed her salad like a ravenous wolf on a fresh kill.

"You know, you'll choke if you don't chew." Madara joked as he took a sip of water. Ino looked up with a leafy piece of romaine lettuce between her lips.

"Shut up!" she growled and gammed her fork into another mound of lettuce. Ino checked her watch before taking another huge bite of her salad.

"What are we waiting for?" he asked, sighing as he popped another pretzel into his mouth. "I thought you said you wanted to go shopping."

"I'm waiting on my text." She answered, reaching for her diet soda. "Everyone who signs up, receives a text just before the sale starts." Ino motioned with her fork to the black phone sitting next to her tray. Madara rolled his eyes and nodded in understanding. Ino gave a huff of irritation and grabbed her tray when her phone beeped in a loud, obnoxious tone. She picked it up and tapped a few buttons. Her tray made a loud clattering sound as it crashed to the ground. "Oh my God! The sale's starting!"

Madara sat back in his chair with his hands pressed over his ears, shielding his sensitive hearing from her unruly shout. "Could you be any louder? I don't think the mayor of Suna heard you." And before he could make any further protests, Madara was ripped from the -semi- comfort of his chair as the blonde pulled him along and around tables.

"Come on! Stop dragging your damn feet!"

An hour and a half later, he stood with a look that would have made the Devil himself shudder and cower in fear, a man on the other side of the shop gave him a sympathetic look.

"Hell yeah! 80% off!"

Purple fabric hit him in the face, eyes narrowing as it slid down, joining the ever-growing pile in his arms.

"Damn." Ino cursed and turned to face him, shoving her hand under his nose. "I broke a nail." Madara bit his tongue and closed his eyes for patience, he had tried to get away - numerous times with every excuse known to man - he ever roared his protest but the blonde terror simply waved him off and threw another piece of clothing in his arms. "I need a manicure, maybe even a pedicure… what do you think of blue?"

'Kami, kill me now… or her,' Madara prayed.

Now standing in front of a wall chalk full of nail polish and bag laden arms, Madara glared daggers at the blond. He growled with a deep scowl as the blonde terror grabbed his hand - just how the hell was she so strong - and painted a vibrant yellow on his index finger. She hummed and ha'ed, tilting her head. "No, not the right tone… maybe red."

Pulling his hand away viciously, he didn't notice the beautician paint the red on his other index finger.

"Yamanaka!"

Ino turned innocent eyes to the seething Uchiha. "Don't you want to know how to get Sakura to forgive you?" Butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, he had never seen anyone (and he meant anyone) manipulate so well. She had steamrolled over him, put him off balance and now the blackmail. Without a fight he let her paint a plum color on his middle finger, his face clouding over in anger; this had better be fucking worth it.

~xxx~

Bags slipped from his arms, falling onto the couch in Ino's living room. It was dusk now, having spent all day shopping with the - eloquently named - blonde terror in the mall, shopping, and now Madara was hungry.

"Thanks for coming with me." Ino smiled as she flipped on the kitchen light. "I'll treat you to pizza and beer, is that ok?" Madara wanted to say no… but the blonde terror had yet to live up to her end of the deal.

"That's fine." He growled and followed her into the white wash kitchen, taking a seat at the table off to the right. Madara waited for her to hang up the phone before leaning closer with a menacing glare. "We have time before the pizza arrives, spill!" she blinked in surprise, shaking herself from her shopping crazed stupor and nodded. Ino stood and walked to her refrigerator, grabbing a 12 pack of beer before returning to the table.

"Well, I've known Sakura since… well, all our lives." She shrugged, opening the box with newly manicured, powder blue nails.

"How did her mother die?" asked the Uchiha, reaching into the box for a beer.

"How do you know about that?" she nearly screeched, painted nails curled into a fist on the table top.

"Never mind how I know, tell me what happened." Madara practically demanded as he reached into the box and grabbed a cold bottle. Neither spoke for ten solid minutes as sapphire glared into smoky obsidian. Finally, Ino conceded as the doorbell rang. She scampered to the door and hurried back just as quickly. Situating the pizza and beer on the table, Ino sighed as she took a bit of the pepperoni pizza.

"Alright," she swallowed before taking a sip of her beer. "It happened when we were six years old; we had just gotten out of school for the summer…"

_~Flashback~_

_"Ino-chan, Sakura-chan, are you ready to go?" asked Rin as she poked her head in through the side door of the blue minivan she drove. Sakura clicked her seatbelt into place and smiled up at her mother._

_"I'm ready mommy." Answered the sweet pink-haired girl as she kicked her backpack under her seat. Ino let her backpack fall to the floor, sighing as she clicked her seatbelt into place._

_"Ready!" chimed the blonde with a grin. Rin giggled as she stepped away from the opening preparing to close the door, listening to the girls giggle and cheer for pizza._

_"Bye Sasuke-kun!" they yelled in unison as two raven-haired boys walked passed the car, one older and the other was their age. The boy in question turned to look at them as they waved frantically, wishing him a great summer break as he passed. Sasuke didn't say anything as he gripped Itachi's hand tighter but he did wave back before climbing into the car in front of them. Rin closed the door and walked to the driver side, sliding into the seat. The minivan came to life with the turn of a key and pulled slowly into traffic as the elementary school vanished from view._

_The girls happily sang along to the song on the radio, Rin smiled while waiting for the light to change._

_"Mommy, sing!" Sakura shouted from the back making Rin chuckle as she nodded. Shaking her head, Rin cleared her throat while resting her elbow on the door._

_"Ki zukanai furi wo shite, chiisana mado kara tooku mitsumeteta. Sora ni hirogaru tenshi no koe, kaze ni dakarete-" the light turned green, and the minivan moved forward. Just as Rin was about to start the next verse, a loud screech of tires on pavement made her snap to attention and whip her head to the left. Her eyes widened in terror as a black sports car with smoking tires veered towards her car._

_In a violent, shrieking clash of metal on metal, the sports car slammed into Rin's side door, bending the door of the minivan inward. The sudden impact forced the minivan to jerk hard to the right before it was violently tossed onto its side with a loud crunch of glass and metal filling the air._

_Bystanders rushed to their aid, the two shrieking girls hung in their seats, held in place by their seatbelts as Sakura cried out for her mother. Rin groaned incoherently, her daughter's pleas filling her bloody ears and dazed mind as everything faded into darkness._

_Sakura was pulled out first, scratched and bruised but relatively unharmed. Ino was much the same way as a tall, white-haired man set her down next to Sakura. An ambulance pulled up and the medics rush to Rin's side as she was pulled out of the wreckage._

_"I want my mommy!" shouted a confused Sakura as she sat down on the pavement, scratched and bruised fingers gripping the straps of her pink cover-alls. Ino stood with her hands clasped together as she sobbed in the middle of the street with a strange woman trying to calm her down. So much happened at once; the paramedics were able to retrieve Rin from the clutches of the twisted wreckage and had loaded her into the ambulance, the police showed up with sirens and light on, and the girls were loaded into another ambulance before being taken to the hospital._

_Being separated from her mother did not sit well with Sakura. By the time the ambulance pulled into the hospital parking lot, Sakura's face was beet red from screaming. Ino was quiet the whole time, staring off with a dazed gaze while being carried by a paramedic. Sakura huffed loudly as she finally calmed down enough to catch her breath. They were placed on opposite beds in the ER while doctors and nurses rushed about. They were seen shortly by a busty blonde doctor._

_"Please… I just want to see my mommy." Whimpered Sakura, teary doe eyes beckoning the older woman to comply._

_"As soon as were done here, I'll take you to go see her. Ok, sweetheart?" the doctor asked watching Sakura's lips quiver in the tell-tail sign that she was about to start crying. To her surprise, Sakura gave a jerky nod while wiping her cheeks with the back of her hands. Ten minutes later, both girls were bandaged up and holding the doctor's hands as they walked down the hallway._

_"You have a daughter and husband, surely-" Rin gave her best smile, cutting the doctor off._

_"I'm DNR." She explained, her smile turned into a pained grimace. "I used to be a doctor; I know I don't have a chance." Tears spilled down her cheeks. "But I can at least say goodbye to my daughter."_

_Rin was hurt badly, internal bleeding that couldn't be stopped, broken bones that were too twisted and shattered to be reset and her heartbeat was growing weaker by the minute. There was nothing the doctors could do for her besides make her as comfortable as possible. Rin was awake but barely conscious when the girls were brought in._

_"Is my mommy going to be ok, Tsunade-sensei?" the pink-haired six-year-old asked, tugging on the sleeve of Tsunade's lab coat. Pausing in the doorway, the blonde doctor looked down at the girl with sad eyes._

_Kneeling down to Sakura's level, Tsunade swallowed and tucked a stand of Sakura's pink hair behind her ear. "Well, sweetie, your mommy is going to go to sleep pretty soon."_

_"When will she wake up?" the girl questioned, her right foot scraped against the floor as she shifted her weight._

_Tsunade looked away from Sakura's pleading emerald eyes before watching the girl bite her bottom lip as fresh tears slipped down her cheeks, for all that she was six she was as clever as her parents and knew when an adult didn't want to tell a kid the truth. Sakura didn't say another word as she let go of Tsunade's coat and turned to the hospital bed. As Sakura walked to the bed, Tsunade led Ino over to a chair and left the girls alone with Rin in search of their fathers and Ino's mother. Ino watched her friend pull a chair to the side of the bed as Sakura climbed up to see her mother._

_"Mommy?" called Sakura in a whisper. Rin groaned as her eyes flickered open, turning her tired orbs to her daughter's face._

_"Hi pumpkin." Rin smiled tearfully as Sakura's tears fell rapidly over her chubby cheeks. "Oh, don't cry honey. Mommy will be alright." Sakura's bottom lip quivered as she crawled onto the bed and sat on her knees. "How about you honey, are you and Ino-chan alright?"_

_"We're fine." Sakura said with a nod. "Tsunade-sensei gave us Hello Kitty band-aids." To prove her point, Sakura lifted her hands to show off the neon-pink band-aids. A choked sob rumbled in Rin's throat; things could have been so much worse._

_"Honey…" Rin spoke softly, drawing Sakura's attention from her band-aids. "I have something really important I need you to do for me." Sakura rested her hands on Rin's arm, eyes drawn to her mother's as another smile formed on her mother's lips. "Look after daddy for me, he gets lonely sometimes and I want you to make sure he always smiles."_

_"Mommy… I-" Sakura started but Rin shushed her by reaching up with a heavy hand and brushed Sakura's tears away._

_"I love you… so very much, Sakura. Tell daddy that I love him, too." Rin's hand slipped away, falling limply over her stomach. The beep of the heart rate monitor slowed and became a long blared in the silent room. Ino began crying as Sakura bowed over her mother and sobbed loudly. It was then that Kakashi showed up, scooping Sakura off the bed and holding her close as Ino's parents did the same for her._

_~End flashback~_

Ino's cell phone rang at that exact moment, making the blonde jump in surprise. Checking the screen, she grinned and flipped it open.

"I was just thinking about you."

_"Oh, really?" _came Sakura's reply over the phone. Madara used that moment of distraction to excuse himself, having a lot to think about now. Ino had waved him off while chatting with her best friend.

~xxx~

Madara glared down at his hands… nail polish on almost every finger in seven different colors. Heading home, he planned on scrubbing the shit off before anyone he knew saw him.

He scrubbed his hands, water lathering his arms up to his elbows, the brush roughly going over his fingers, he say dots of blood but just washed it away. Throwing the brush angrily at the mirror he ignored the loud crash as the shelf under the mirror broke and all of its contents crashed into the sink. Maybe a knife would work.

He did not run, he refused to run, he briskly walked into the pharmacy and up and down the aisles. He didn't have a fucking clue where to look. seeing the beauty counter he slammed his hand down startling the young woman behind it.

"What the hell do I need to take this off!" Madara thrust his red and raw hands onto the counter top, the cuticles bleeding from his vigorous scrubbing but the red, orange, plum, navy, yellow, black and mauve nail polish was still as bright as could be. The artistically dyed red and black haired woman bit her lip to hide her smile, the furious man in front of her not giving off even the slightest hint of amusement. Quickly grabbing cotton wool and nail polish remover, she set to work.

"You just need a little nail polish remover, it lifts it right off... this might sting."

"I don't care." Madara growled, looking around to make sure no one he knew saw him.

"Uh-oh..."

Madara turned his head with lighting speed, "Uh-oh? What do you mean, _uh-oh_?" the girl smiled sheepishly, tucking a red strand behind her ear, gesturing towards the nail varnish that hadn't even dulled.

"This is the new diamond enforced polish, guaranteed not to fade, chip or come off with remover for a week, its expensive but it really works."

_**"A week?"**_

(**A/N**: Phew! About damn time I got this done. Thanks to Rose for the advice and Akuryou-chi for getting me off my lazy ass. Review please and thank you.)

**Translation for song lyrics:** "Pretending not to notice, I gazed far outside a small window. The voice of an angel fills the sky, embraced by the wind-" the song is 'Mizerable' by Gackt.


	7. Chapter 7

A Truce and A Split

(**A/N:** Ok, my muse is back and functioning at full capacity. Sorry to keep you waiting. This chapter is dedicated to **Covered In His Blood** (tell your Madara plushy that I'm terribly sorry and I'll make it up to him soon! I love you Madara-sama!) and **MoonCrier** (thanks so much for getting me off my ass!). You can blame my recent lack of updates on the damn flu!)

~xxx~

Madara scowled down at his fingers before pulling on a pair of leather gloves. Days of scrubbing at his fingernails yielded no results. That blasted nail polish was still on his fingers, not even a damn scratch. He reminded himself that he needed to torture the Yamanaka girl for doing this to him. Tight-lipped and glaring, Madara made it a point not to speak to anyone as he entered the building from the parking garage. He was alone in the lobby, save the receptionist and guard on duty, at seven in the morning and he was slightly pleased by the notion. Never in his life had he felt so embarrassed than having this happen to him… and he was stuck with it for a goddamn week!

"G-good morning, Uchiha-san." Hinata greeted with a polite bow as said man strode passed the front desk, on his way to the elevators.

"Hn." he replied back, not really paying attention. Revenge was the only thing on his mind and Miss Yamanaka was going to pay… dearly. Madara tapped the elevator button while biting the inside of his cheek impatiently. Today was going to be a long day.

~xxx~

Sakura arrived early that morning, fully prepared for whatever Madara had planned for the day. The day's files and a steaming mug of coffee were already set on the table, waiting for the Uchiha prick when he came in. And she didn't have to wait long. She had just taken a seat at her desk when the office door opened and Madara stalked in. And boy… did he look pissed. Sakura was about to question him about it when suddenly, everything went dark. Madara had tossed his coat to her and it landed on her head, giving him enough time to grab the files and coffee off the table and skirt into his office before she could even speak.

"Well… good morning to you too, jerk!" she hissed, tearing his coat from her face and fixing her hair as she grumbled and cursed under her breath. After putting his coat away, Sakura sat back down at her desk and returned to updating the weekly schedule. So far, Madara's day was mostly free except a board meeting at eleven. That meant that she was stuck with him right around the corner for most of the day. She penciled in a few more meetings for later in the week and checked for emails from clients. A loud thump sounded from Madara's office followed by what sounded like a 'son-of-a-bitch!' before the intercom buzzed.

"Wench, get in here!" he barked through the speaker. Sakura didn't respond as she sighed and twirled her chair around to stand.

"What did I do now?" she asked sarcastically, entering his domain with a roll of her eyes. Madara scowled at her with a finger in his mouth, blood on his shirt and his coffee mug on the floor. "Correction: what did you do?"

"Where is the first-aid kit?" he demanded hotly, obsidian orbs narrowed on her like a sniper on his target. Sakura blinked a few times before exiting his office to retrieve said item. It had to be serious if he was asking for the first-aid kit. She returned moments later and placed the kit on his desk before turning to face her asshole boss.

"Let me see it." she said, stepping closer to the hot-headed Uchiha. Without a second thought, Madara popped his finger from his mouth and presented his hand to her, palm up. There was a deep gash extending from the first knuckle to where the second knuckle met the rest of his hand and the bleeding wouldn't stop. "Holy shit," Sakura hissed, reaching into her pants pocket for her handkerchief. She wrapped his hand with the cloth before turning and snatching up the first-aid kit. "Take a seat and I'll fix you up."

"Do you even know what you're doing?" he snapped at her but sat down nonetheless. Sakura rolled her eyes, kneeling down in front of him with the kit open on the floor.

"For your information, I'm certified in first-aid and CPR." she didn't bother looking up at him as she spoke, too busy with digging through the kit to pay him much mind. Pulling on a pair of latex free gloves, Sakura turned to face Madara and lightly pulled his hand closer to her for a better look.

It was at this time when Madara started to consider his options. No, he did not injure himself on purpose. The handle had broken off as he took a sip and he tried to catch a broken cup. Stupid on his part? Maybe. But he had been running on instinct at the time… so, he couldn't blame himself. Nor could he blame his secretary, who had taken the handkerchief off of his finger to see the wound.

'Stupid freak accidents,' he thought with a growing frown. Speaking of freak accidents… there was still a bet to be won and now was as good a time as any to clear the air between them. He had to play it cool on this one, the time spent with Yamanaka girl (whom he still had to torture) would not go to waste. Sakura had tweezers in her free had by the time Madara finally focused on the task at hand.

"Just hold still," she told him, determined emerald eyes narrowed in concentration. A jagged piece of his coffee mug protruded from the hole in his index finger; a gnarly and thick piece at that. Madara barely felt the sting of the alcohol soaked tweezers that gripped the shard and gently pulled it out. Blood oozed from the gash the moment the shard was removed. Sakura countered this with a thick gauze pad she had at the ready. "There we go. Give it a minuet then we'll see how bad it is."

"I'm sorry," Madara whispered, keeping his eyes on his injured hand. Sakura blinked, looking up at him with a questioning gaze. "About your mother; I'm sorry." she stared up at him for a moment, thinking.

"Thanks," Sakura said lamely, "and I'm sorry about your dad." Madara scoffed lightly as Sakura returned her attention to his finger. Her hands were warm through the gloves, he noticed. More of an after thought as she pulled the gauze away. "It looks like you'll need a few stitches."

"And I'm assuming you know how to do that, too?" Sakura gave him a dry look.

"Yes." she answered. "But I don't have the tools to do that. You're going to have to deal with butterfly stitches until you go see a doctor." he scowled at the prospect of seeing a doctor. "Or you can go the cheap route and superglue it shut." Sakura chimed with a tight-lipped smile.

"The butterfly stitches will be fine for now." he told her as he watched Sakura fiddle with the box of stitches. "Where did you learn how to do this?"

"My great-aunt Tsunade used to be my babysitter when I was younger. She's the chief of medicine at Konoha General." Sakura explained with a shrug. "Naturally -with my dad being a cop- I picked up a few things, more or less to make sure he was alright."

"Then why didn't you become a doctor then?" he heard her sigh softly as she tore open the package of butterfly stitches.

"Honestly, I don't think I'd be able to handle all the death that surrounds that profession, so I chose a… safer career." she pinched the tare in his skin together, causing Madara to let out a little hiss, and placed the first butterfly stitch. Sakura mumbled an apology before placing the next stitch, sealing the wound as best as she could. It took four butterfly stitches to close the gash on his finger and by the time she finished, Madara was impressed; not that he would openly admit it. She then wrapped his finger with more gauze and tape, stating that it can and will re-open if he didn't see a doctor about getting proper stitches and a splint.

"I appreciate the help." Madara mumbled, standing and moving Sakura's crouched figure as she cleaned up the mess. "Get my spare shirt and tie from the closet when you're done." Sakura did as she was told without complaint, though something was nagging at the back of her mind.

"If you don't mind my asking, why are your fingernails painted different colors?"

~xxx~

Ino grinned as she walked passed Uchiha Madara's office, spotting Sakura fixing his tie for him while Madara sported an annoyed look. Of course her plan would work, she fancied herself a genius after all. Showing up to work a half hour early had been the only draw back to her plot to get her best friend and her asshole boss together. As the saying goes, opposites attract and there was some serious chemistry in the works between the two. Of course, it also helped that Sasori had paid for her shopping trip over the weekend. He had explained that here was a bet to get the two together by Christmas and he was up against Kakuzu and didn't want to loose.

Replacing Madara's normal mug with the piece of crap and falling apart one had been so worth it. She stopped walking after she passed the door and listened in on their conversation.

"… Really? So, they painted up your nails with at new stuff that doesn't come off?" Madara sighed heavily with a slow nod.

"I will never go clothes shopping again."

"Scarred for life, I see." she giggled, straightening his tie. "That's how it normally is when you shop with Yamanaka Ino." Sakura smiled up at him, not bothering to hide the mirth in her eyes. "Why on Kami's green Earth did you go shopping with her anyways?" how was he going to answer that, Ino wondered.

"I ran into your friend when I came back for my briefcase." Madara had to play it cool from this point on. "I wanted to apologize for everything that's happened. We got off on the wrong foot and I wanted to say that it was wrong of me to treat you as I did. So, that's why I went shopping with Yamanaka-san; to find out a little more about you in order to apologize properly." Sakura was floored by his confession, gaping at him like fish, mouth opening in shock then snapping closed as she let go of his tie.

"Um… apology accepted." she said awkwardly as she stared up at him. Ino grinned, biting her thumb in order to keep from laughing at how perfectly her plan worked. Sakura's dazed tone was enough to solidify the fact that 'Operation Hurt Madara To Get Them Talking' had worked out down to the 'T'. She skirted away from the wall and back to her own office to phone Sasori of her success, completely missing the last few seconds of their discussion.

"If you have anything to get rid of this nail polish, I'll let you help plan my retaliation." Sakura extended her right hand towards Madara with a grin.

"We have a truce then?" Madara shook her hand with a tight nod.

"Yes, of course."

~xxx~

Deidara raised a brow as his dear girlfriend who glared at her sandwich. When Deidara said he'd take her out to lunch… this was not what Sakura had in mind. Apparently, the fourth time was not the charm. It was back to the same routine where they started off great but then he'd mess it up. Then Ino's words penetrated her mind.

'You've been seeing the same guy on and off for the last four years. Give some other guy a chance!'

'I hate it when she's right.' Sakura thought with a bitter frown. She glanced up at Deidara who stared at her with a frown of his own. Kami, why did she keep doing this to herself. Countless people had told her that he was no good for her, had cheated (more than once) on her and that he would continue to do so until she put her foot down. But she just didn't have the heart nor the guts to voice her opinion… unless she was pissed off. And it was starting to turn out that way. He had called Sakura while Madara was in a meeting, asking if her wanted to get together for lunch, she had agreed immediately. The blond had picked her up and drove her half way across town to this dinky sandwich hut and proceeded to stare at his food as if it were more entertaining than her. Clearly, there was something going on here that made her rethink dating him… again.

"Something on your mind, yeah?" he asked before taking a bite out of his food.

"I could ask you the same thing." she snapped back, surprising herself with her statement but she continued on. "You've been staring at that turkey and Swiss sandwich like it's your last meal and must be savored."

"I'm sorry, yeah. I've been a little distracted lately."

"A little?" she questioned sarcastically, crossing her arms. "Dei-kun, I'm beginning to think that this -us being together- isn't the best idea. It's like we're heading down that road again only taking a different route." Deidara sat up in his chair and reached across the table, finding her hands in the blink of an eye.

"No. I'm doing my best to make things better this time, yeah." he told her with a sincerity and conviction that made her blink back tears. "I know I messed things up and I'm trying to make it up to you, yeah. I really am."

"But Deidara, trying to convince me to go to a mud wrestling match isn't the best way to fix our relationship." Deidara hung his head.

"Sorry about that, yeah. I won the tickets in a raffle and thought it would be interesting." Sakura snorted and rolled her eyes.

"I think you need to tell Commander Morino that the raffle is a cheap waste of time and extremely stupid." Deidara gave her a lop-sided smirk before he kissed her hands.

~xxx~

The week passed with little trouble. Sakura and Madara's witty banter was ever present to fools Ino (whom they know would be listening in) and others from their devious plot. It was actually kind of fun for the both of them, plotting revenge was a common interest. It was a shame that they still hated each other and the situation forced upon them. Yes, Sakura had agreed to take the job but, it was Fugaku's fault for going behind Madara's back and hiring her. Oh well. They were in it for the long haul now.

"So, Yamanaka's weakness is her hair, you say?" asked Madara with a sly grin. Sakura nodded with a grin of her own. A part of this little plot was Sakura's own revenge on the blond for a trick she played on Halloween that nearly gave the pink-haired secretary a heart attack.

"Oh, you have no idea. Her hair is like the force… and the force is strong with her." Sakura chuckled, waving a have as she laughed. "I think she actually would die without it." if it weren't for the fact that Madara had seen Ino playing with her hair (constantly), he would have guessed that makeup was the blonde's crutch.

"What do you suggest we do?" queried the Uchiha as he leaned forward on laced fingers, mindful of his stitched left index finger. After the car stunt, his respect for Sakura's devious ways was kicked up a notch or two. So, anything she came up with was much appreciated because he planned on stuffing Ino's chair full of firecrackers and lighting them. At this point, Sakura clapped her hands together before reaching for the plastic bag by her feet.

"There's a little get-together going on this Saturday at Ichiraku's Pub," she reached into the bag and pulled out a mop of blond hair clippings. "Attack her where it counts and make her think her hair's falling out." this was even better than he had imagined. With a cruel smirk, Madara leaned back in his chair with a chuckle.

"By all means, go ahead… I'll be there to see it." he told her, watching her evil grin widen. "But for now," Madara pushed his empty mug towards Sakura. "Get me more coffee."

~xxx~

Ino checked her reflection in the rear-view mirror on more time before she got out of her car and locked the doors. Sakura had done wonders with her hair, having spent two long hours to make it look perfect with a salon brand sprits to soften her blonde locks. Hoping to catch some hottie off guard tonight and take him home, Ino dressed in a purple half-shirt with a matching skirt and a pair of heels that would make the ankles of models ache at their height. To her surprise, Sakura was already at the pub; Deidara's car was parked three spots to the right of hers. With a shrug, the blonde stepped into the pub.

Everyone was gathered around the 'Watering Hole', a sign that hung over the bar area, when she walked in. Ino grinned widely as her pink-haired best friend/enemy waved her arms frantically over her head. Sakura was surrounded by the guy, of course. The tiny secretary had always been more of a tomboy, especially after her mother's passing, but tonight was different. Ino took in Sakura's red halter top and black miniskirt with envy (an outfit the blonde had given Sakura because her ass was too big to fit in it).

"How did you get here so fast?" asked Ino as they shared a quick hug. The pink-haired girl chuckled at her friend with a shake of her head.

"Unlike you, I don't spend hours looking for the perfect outfit. Is that new, by the way? I've never seen you ware that before." blinking, Ino looked down at her clothes then back at Sakura with a sly smirk.

"This old thing? Nah, it was laying around in my closet. I just thought I'd go retro tonight." in fact… it was new but Ino wasn't about to tell her friend that and then get a lecture about wasting money on material items. With a wave of her hand, Ino grabbed Sakura's wrist and dragged her friend away from the guys. "Sorry boys, me and Ms. Kitten need to talk." of course the boys had protested with a loud 'aw' (and a 'damn it' from Hidan).

Madara strolled into the pub with an air of impassiveness that fit every Uchiha male alive (except for Shisui who was the only bubbly Uchiha… ever!) and made his way to the bar for a dirty martini. Sakura, being dragged to the bathroom by Ino, winked as she passed him. Everything was in order. Now all he had to do was wait and watch the magic happen.

"Look who decided to crawl out of his dungeon; it's Mada-kun!" Shisui cheered with a bottle of beer in his hand.

"Can it, twerp." snapped the older Uchiha, sipping on his martini with vigor. He was ready to leave the moment he stepped in the door. How long was this going to take?

"Ne, Mada-kun, we're going to play beer pong later… wanna join in?" yup, tonight might just kill him.

In the bathroom, Ino fiddled with her bag, pulling out an assortment of items from her Gucci bag with a huff. Sakura did the same, carefully slipping a tiny plastic bag under her purse. Ino's brush sat ever-so-innocently close to Sakura's hand as the blonde busied herself with touching up her make up. From the corner of her eye, Sakura watched her friend as she caked on lip gloss. It was now or never.

"Ino, you've messed up all my hard work." Sakura chided, grabbing the hairbrush before her friend could even blink. "Let me fix it for you." Ino didn't have time to reply before Sakura grabbed the softening sprits Ino carried and began working with her hair. After a few passes with the brush, Sakura decided to distract the blonde to work her evil magic. "So how was the sale last weekend?" she asked, moving to the side a little, after brushing Ino's hair and set the brush down by her bag. Ino's blue eyes lit up, blonde hair flicking back over her shoulder, putting her hair lip gloss down she turned to the rosette.

"It was amazing, do you have any idea how much I was able to get off - it was an eighty percent sale, _eighty percent!_ They had the most fantastic shoes and I got the most fabulous pumps! Oh and I found the new diamond dust nail varnish!" as Ino mentioned the nail varnish she turned back to the mirror, Sakura smiled away, cleaning up the counter and arranging the many items between herself and Ino.

Sakura's quiet staring suddenly caught her attention.

"What?" Ino's eyes met Sakura's widened emerald ones, the concern scaring her. "Sakura what is it?"

With growing horror Ino watched Sakura's hand reach out and touch her hair. She felt the fingers combing through it and suddenly gasped as a few long blonde strands were held in Sakura's hand.

_"Did you get your hair cut?"_

Ino felt the tears fill her eyes as she whispered, "n-no…", just as Sakura reached out again, fingers running over her scalp and once more and more strands were held up. Ino's hand reached up in abject fear, hand to her scalp and gently tugging it - blonds strands filling it. Blue eyes fell on her paddle hair brush, tears falling down her paling face as she saw the amount of hair on the bristles. Hearing the whimpers, Sakura stood back, Ino fulfilling her expectations as she grabbed and threw her things in in her had bag. Whimpers and cries of pain falling from her lips with one hand over her head and the other clutching her bag as she dashed from the bathroom screaming she needed to go to the hairdresser. Smiling Sakura took out the plastic wrapping from under her bag and carefully threw it in the bin, the plastic writing - Blonde Hair clippings, face down.

Madara couldn't have been more pleased, if he could say so himself. Watching the blonde run through the bar, shrieking in true horror, had been the most satisfying sight he'd seen in ages. He slightly raised his glass to Sakura as she slipped passed him, trying desperately to quell her laughter as she walked back to the curious men in the corner.

"You guys, it was awful! Ino's hair is falling out!"

~xxx~

A few drinks and an angry phone call later, everyone was having a good time. Madara had even decided to stick around for a few more martinis as the group paired up to play darts. And it was about this time where Sakura needed to go pee… really bad. She excused herself after giving Deidara a quick kiss on the cheek. As she walked away, Deidara sighed and reached for his phone as it buzzed with an incoming text.

"So," Kisame huffed, reading the text over Deidara's shoulder. "How's paradise been treating you?"

"Could be better, yeah." the blonde answered as he flipped his phone closed and stuffed it back in his pocket.

"Really?" Shisui spoke this time, giving a tiny glare. "And just who was that?" Madara watched the exchange with interest. It seemed as though he was going to see just how protective everyone was for his secretary.

"None of your damn business, Sunshine, yeah." Deidara replied hotly, standing to confront the Uchiha who dared to question him. The ever- quiet Itachi stood between them, a glare so fierce in his eyes that Madara was forced to take a step back as he watched the brewing fight.

"You're fucking cheating on her again, aren't you?" this time Hidan spoke, scowling at the blond. Deidara crossed his arms over his chest.

"No, I'm not."

"Then _who_ just sent you a text?" Itachi growled, having know Sakura since she was five, he was her as a little sister and wanted nothing bad to ever happen to her. "Is it that Ayame girl again?"

"So what if it is? Sakura knows about her. We have an open relationship and she knows Ayame is just a friend with benefits."

"Did you tell her or assume?" Kakuzu asked, standing his full height to tower over the sputtering blond.

"Answer. The. Damn. Question. Deidara!" a new voice broke into the conversation. Everyone turned to see a seething Sakura cracking her knuckles as she glared at her, soon-to-be pulverized, ex-boyfriend. Save to say, Deidara left the bar with blue balls, a black eye and fat lip courtesy of one pissed off pink-haired secretary. "I'll need a ride home now." she said, gripping her beer bottle loosely to ease the pain of hitting someone in the jaw.

"Do you want to leave now?" it was Madara who asked, surprising everyone.

"Not just yet, I want to get shit-faced first." and so he watched her down a six pack before calling it a night.

(**A/N:** Thank you Rose for playing plot bunny with me, lol. Review if you liked it… or not.)


	8. Chapter 8

A drunken Night

(**A/N**: I am so sorry it took me so long to get this up. I only had one day off in two weeks and almost no time to write. Again, I'm sorry and I hope you enjoy the show. Oh, and keep in mind that if some of the characters seem to be a little odd at times, it's because they're drunk!)

~xxx~

Pink dusted over Sakura's cheeks with her fifth beer resting empty in front of her. She felt warm and fuzzy as the alcohol swam through her veins, clouding her mind with a delicious dizziness while the music in the bar pounding against her drunken brain. Across from her sat Kakuzu and Hidan, to her left was Sasori, and on her right sat Shisui. Madara and Itachi sat on stools with their backs to the bar while Itachi related the night's event to the late arriving Sasuke. And, standing in the corner, Kisame happily gulped down another cup of sake while talking on the phone to his, still seething, secretary.

"I thought Naruto was coming tonight." the drunk rosette said, blinking thickly as another beer was presented to her. She smiled her thanks to her father (who had arrived moments ago… though he had to be tied to his chair and was made to promise not to kill Deidara until tomorrow.) and twisted the cap off the bottle.

"He said he was on his way with little Hinata." Kakashi informed her with an eye crinkle.

"Aw! I always knew they'd make a cute couple!" she spoke, clapping her hands excitedly. Sakura was just too cute when she was drunk. The pink-haired secretary wasn't one of those flirtatious drunks, but a bubbly, talkative and expressive type; a funny drunk. She also spoke the blunt truth when blitzed… not that she was a good liar to begin with. "And it's about damn time, too." she took a swig of her new beer and set it back down.

"What will happen with Deidara?" Sasori asked, motioning for the bartender to bring him another water. He was the designated driver for Kisame, Kakuzu and Hidan tonight.

"_You're_ his best friend," Sakura drawled, leveling the redhead with a blank stare. "_You_ do something about him. I've officially washed my hands of him."

"Will ya fuckin' go out with me, Cherry-chan?" slurred Hidan, rolling his head to give Sakura a half-lidded stare.

"No."

"Jashin-fuckin'-damn it!"

"Keep it down you idiot." Kakuzu snapped, elbowing Hidan in the ribs.

"With all due respect, Stabby-chan, I like you… just not in that way." Sakura slurred back, leaning to her right, dangerously close to falling into Shisui's lap. "I think I may just stay single for a while."

"That sounds fine to me." Kakashi mumbled over the rim of his cup. "The rest of your life would be even better."

"Otou-chan, don't be mean." pouted Sakura cutely with her arms crossed over her chest. "You were the one saying you wanted grandchildren some day."

"True," he spoke, setting his glass on the table. "But only when you're thirty and married to someone deserving. Not Deidara."

"Well, that wasn't going to happen any time soon. I'm still as pure as the driven snow."

"Thank Kami-sama!" Kakashi sagged in relief.

"You mean to tell me," Kakuzu interrupted with a raised brow. "In the four years that the two have been together, you've never… done the deed?"

"Nope." she shook her head. "And it sure as hell wasn't going to happen after the Ayame incident!" Sakura scoffed, downing the rest of her beer. "It's not that I'm a prude or anything. I just didn't feel comfortable enough to take that step with him." Kakashi cried anime tears as he agreed with her; his baby girl was growing up to be a fine woman.

"Deidara never tried to force himself on you, did he?" Sasuke questioned, deciding now would be a good time to add his two cents.

"No, and trust me, if he ever had, I would've castrated him then shoved his balls down his throat." Another wave of anime tears streaked down Kakashi's cheeks at the fierceness of her words as she all but glared at her long-time male friend.

"Ugh… this is depressing!" Shisui groaned while rubbing the back of his neck. "Care to dance, Sakura-chan?" the pink-haired young lady blinked twice before nodding.

"Sure, but no swing dancing! I'm too drunk for that and I'm totally not dressed for it either."

Madara watched from the bar as Sakura and Shisui flew across the dace floor in a stumbling, drunken rendition of the tango; the former messing up the whole time. The older Uchiha scowled as Sakura laughed at Shisui, who tripped over his own feet. If there was one thing that irked him and really got on his nerves, it was the horrible swaying of their bodies, trying (and failing miserably) to execute -what should have been- an elegant, graceful and beautiful dance (and sensual, let's not for get about that one!). And his buffoon of a cousin had just thoroughly butchered Madara's favorite dance in two steps.

Whether it was the four dirty martinis in his system or his own anger towards the debauchery on the dance floor, but he decided to set the record straight. Madara stood with ease, brushing the wrinkles from his shirt before stalking forward and joining the couple.

"Shisui, I think you've stepped on her feet more than enough." Madara spoke over the music playing from the juke box.

"Well then, Lord of the Dance, why don't you show us how it's done?" snapped the younger Uchiha, leaning heavily on Sakura with an arm draped over her shoulders.

"I may as well, seeing is how you've completely ruined the tango." replied Madara, offering a hand to Sakura. She really wanted to dance, she really did, but not with jackass of a boss. So, Sakura crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Madara while tapping her foot. "If you're afraid I'm going to hurt you, don't worry. We have a truce… I won't hurt you."

"You won't try anything funny, will you?" she asked, peering through long lashes.

Madara gave an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes. "It's the tango, we'll have to be close and touching in order to dance properly." Sakura glanced over at Shisui who wore a carefully blank look.

"I don't trust you…" the drunken Uchiha spoke, his head rolling to the side with a half-hearted glare in his glazed eyes. Thank the heaves that Itachi was driving him home tonight.

"And I didn't ask for your opinion." that said, Madara reached across the two foot gap between him and Sakura and grabbed her hand, effectively pulling and spinning her away from Shisui.

"_What-_" she cried, making three full turns before being pulled against Madara's chest, one of his hands resting on the small of her back and the other at the base of her neck. Sakura glared up at him, her lips pulled in a full pout. "You're an asshole, you know that, right?" he smirked down at her as the hand that held her neck slowly moved to her right hand. And the next thing she knew, Sakura was that much closer to him to where her nose almost touched the hollow of his throat and her right arm thrown carelessly over his shoulder.

"This changes nothing, wench." he said, taking a sharp step towards her. Sakura countered with a step back, a blush threatened to break out across her cheeks (and she fought like hell to keep it at bay). "Just dance." another quick step followed by a tight turn brought them closer together (if it were possible) as Sakura's arm tightened around his shoulders and his hand pressed harder on her lower back. They separated momentarily, Madara's left hip pressed against Sakura's right as they clapped twice then turned and clapped again. Madara took a step away from Sakura, an hand held out for her to grab. She took it and spun sharply into a dip.

And they were lost from that point on.

Madara's free hand came up to rest upon her collarbone, sliding slowing down her body, through the valley of her breasts, along her flat stomach to her rounded hips. Sakura's eyes fluttered shut against their will, her right arm moved gracefully above her head while she was slowly made to stand. Her arm fell to lightly rest on his shoulder once more while his left hand moved up her back. Sakura's breath caught in her throat when she felt his warm hand on the skin between her shirt and skirt and her emerald eyes snapped up to meet deep onyx ones. She licked her lips without thinking, sucking in a quick breath to calm herself… and it didn't work.

The hand on her back moved over her tight, miniskirt-clad rump and grabbed the back of her leg, hiking it up and over Madara's hip. Sakura arched her back automatically into another dip, catching the shocked gazes of her father and friends before Madara swung her body slowly, from left to right. She snapped back up, her left hand came up and pressed on his hard chest as a tiny gasp left her lungs. Their faces were mere millimeters apart when Madara lifted Sakura into the air, one of her legs kicked up before being set back on the ground and pressed against Madara's chest once more. His hooded gaze held hers as his hand clasped hers firmly, turning their bodies to face the watching crowd to their left. They took five quick steps forward, never once breaking eye contact.

One… two… three-four-five, they went before a pause, a quick step back, two claps, turn and another clap. Then the came together and repeated the process in the other direction. The group of family and friends stood entranced as the watched Madara spin Sakura out away from him then back, bringing the rosette close while they twirled across the floor, eye still firmly locked on each other.

"Um… is it me or are they actually being civil towards one another?" Kakuzu voiced; he could actually feel himself loosing the bet the long they danced.

"I believe they are." Sasori answered with a smugness that irritated the hell out of the masked man.

"Damn! I have to find out where he learned to dance like that." growled Shisui, taking note of the younger women watching Madara like a hawk.

"We all took lessons, idiot. You skipped out on them." Sasuke informed his older cousin with a glare. It was required of all Uchiha men to know how to dance; it was a sort of family tradition that, supposedly, helped to woo women. It worked for Fugaku, Itachi (who tragically lost his wife of three years in child birth but had a beautiful daughter to show for it.) and now it looked like Madara would be next. Too bad he and Sakura hated each other like it was nobody's business.

"Damn it!" the unlikely Uchiha growled when he realized how right his baby cousin was. "_Double damn it!_" his fist pounded on the table, waking Hidan from his drunken nap.

"So not fucking fair!" the white-haired man shouted when he caught sight of Madara dipping Sakura one last time as the song on the juke box came to and end.

"I think it's about time we called it a night." Kakashi said before Hidan could act upon his murderous thoughts. Everyone else couldn't agree more with the silver-haired SWAT captain.

~xxx~

Sakura sat as close to the door as she could possibly get while the BMW took a left onto Hokage Memorial Avenue. What the hell was she thinking, dancing with him? And in that manner. How could she let herself get carried away like that? Oh dear Kami! What was Ino going to say about this (hell, they practically had sex on the dance floor with some of the moves they made!)? What were the other secretaries going to say? Sakura groaned inwardly the more she thought about it.

The rosette knew Kisame was going to tell Ino about her… dance with Madara. Kami, she wouldn't be surprised if the two were secretly seeing each other because they were that close (practically attached at the hip). Sakura half expected her phone to start ringing with Ino asking for a play-by-play of her dance with 'the most gorgeous bachelor' at Uchiha Corp. But she knew the blonde well. Leave it to Ino to call first thing in the morning. Sakura bit her bottom lip, glancing at Madara out of the corner of her eye.

Ok, she would admit that he was very handsome (when he wasn't being an asshole) and he had some redeeming qualities. Like the fact that he was a fantastic dancer! That had always been a major quality in her dream guy; to be swept off her feet like a princess by a charming prince. Let's not forget the fact that he shared her affinity for payback and devious plotting. Maybe the truce between them came at the right time. Otherwise, they probably would have killed each other by now. But that was not the reason why she was pressed against the car door at the moment. Her gaze fell on his hands. That was the reason, right there.

His hands had been gentle yet firm on her body as they danced. They had made her feel and forget at the same time. Sure, when she danced with Deidara and his skilled fingers moved over her body, they had made her feel warm and comforted. But, oddly enough, Madara's touch had ignited a flame in the pit of her stomach that lazily licked along her nerves from the moment he grabbed her hand up until he let her go and walked back to the bar. And it was during the dance that his touch caused her mind to go blank (against her better judgment) and she had allowed herself to be touched in such a manner. But it felt amaz-

'_Whoa! Hold it right there!'_ she scolded herself. _'Don't you even think about finishing that sentence, Sakura!'_

"Do I make a left at this light?" Madara asked, pulling Sakura from her berating, self-loathing scolding.

"Eh?" smooth, Saku-chan, real smooth. "Oh! No, the next light." he nodded in response.

"What are you thinking about?" Sakura turned to really look at him… and lied through her teeth.

"Oh, just what everyone is going to say about us dancing together because Shisui has a big mouth and Kisame will definitely tell Ino. And Kami knows Ino can't keep her mouth shut to save her life." she stated with a huff. Madara frowned at her words.

"Hn" translation: "Shit."

"Yeah, you said it." he chuckled at her, causing Sakura to blink and stare. "Are you… are you _laughing_ at me?" she asked, slightly miffed by his attitude.

"Maybe," he teased, glancing at her with a crocked smirk. Yup, he was drunk. That explained everything. The car made a left at the next light then a direct right into the parking lot of Konoha Terrace. Madara found an open spot and parked his baby carefully before cutting the engine. As Sakura fished for her keys in her purse, she was surprised to find Madara opening the car door for her.

"Thank you." she told him, still confused by his behavior (alcohol couldn't be blamed for everything, you know). Sakura stepped out of the car and was further surprised when he locked the doors and followed her towards the building. "What are you doing?" Sakura stopped walking, allowing Madara to catch up to her.

"Despite popular belief," he spoke, stuffing his hands in deep into his pockets. "My mother raised me right." she gawked at him before crossing her arms.

"_Oh really?_" came her snide reply, "so, your mother taught you to hire strippers and force lap dances on people?" now he really laughed at her and it was a strange yet beautiful sound to her alcohol glazed brain.

"No. That was me getting even." she scowled at him, yet she couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips. And so, she huffed and turned away from him, walking quickly to the front door. Madara was one step ahead of her though, holding the door open for her.

"Ok… now that's just creepy. I almost miss the asshole in you."

"Almost?" he questioned, not really serious.

"Yeah," Sakura sighed, looking sad for a split second as they stepped towards the elevators. She waved to the clerk at the visitors desk, receiving a wave and smile in return. "You're nothing like Deidara when we first started dating -not that I want to date you or anything. He was so nice and sweet and funny… the he started pulling stuff behind my back." the elevator dinged, signaling its arrival. "So, you being an asshole was a breath of fresh air." the duo stepped into the elevator and Sakura pressed the button for the seventh floor. "You know, the only reason why I went out with him in the first place was because he begged me to."

Madara 'hn-ed', leaning against the wall. "Was there someone else you wanted to date instead?" he watched her turn beet red.

"A-Actually, yes." the doors opened and the walked down the hall to their immediate left, to the end of the hall. "It may sound strange but… um… I wanted to date Shisui."

"You're kidding, right? The goof-ball of my family?" he sputtered, unable to believe his ears. Maybe he heard her wrong, he was pretty buzzed, after all. "Enlighten me." Sakura rolled her eyes while opening her apartment door. Madara wordlessly followed her in, closing the door behind him as he took off his shoes.

"Shisui is a total sweetheart." she defended, turning on the lights in the living room. Madara followed her into the kitchen and leaned against the counter as she dug up some beer. "I have some sake if you'd rather have that."

"What kind is it?" he watched her poke around the fridge.

"I have two bottles of Shukoichi from Wave Country. Kisame bought them for me as a birthday gift." Madara hummed his approval, accepting a small glass of rice wine that she presented to him. He took it with a nod, sniffing the liquid like a professional connoisseur. "Well, I guess I'll give you the grand tour."

Sakura led him down the adjacent hallway where the walls were lined with photos. As they walked, Sakura plucked random pictures from the walls and stuffed them under her arm. He guessed that they were of Deidara because when she reached the last door at the end of the hall she opened the door, clicked on the light, and let the frames fall into the wastebasket by the door. Then she turned to him with a smile.

"Ok!" Sakura clapped her hands together. "That's my room, _no one_ goes in there." she explained and closed the door quickly. Moving towards Madara, Sakura opened the door on his left. "This is the guest bedroom. If you get too drunk to drive you can sleep in here, it's not a problem. Um… if you need a change of clothes, some of my dad's clothes might fit you. I keep some men's clothes on hand because I never know who's going to end up crashing on my couch sometimes." she moved out of the doorway so Madara could look around before he turned and motioned for her to continue. Across the hall was the linen closet with extra towels, sheets and such. Next to that was the bathroom with a spacious atmosphere of cream colored tiles and burgundy accent pieces. "I'm going to change out of this God-awful get-up. Feel free to look around, I'll be back in a minute."

Let to his own devices, Madara sipped on his sake and returned to the living room. Now that he had time to actually look at things, he couldn't help the surprise that filled him as he scanned the room. The living room was white with beige carpeting, black leather couches and a glass-topped coffee table that sat perfectly centered on a black and white, checkered area rug. Around the room were hunter green accent pieces that ranged from picture frames to a glass vase full of white carnations. In other words, she had nice taste. But really took him by surprise was the huge flat screen TV hooked up to a Playstation 3. Sakura hardly seemed the type to play videogames. But who was he to judge her? Hell, he barely knew the pink-haired secretary. So, he stalked over to the entertainment center and sifted through the games.

Mortal Kombat, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed, just to name the few that he knew. She had a gaming nerds dream collection in her living room. Then something caught his attention. The PS3 wasn't actually hooked up to the television. No, a grey, old, clunky-looking box was plugged in instead. He recognized the box as the second generation Playstation. Curiosity thoroughly peaked, Madara popped the top and pulled out the disc.

"No shit, Twisted Metal Black." he said to himself, "I never would have guessed."

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Sakura spoke from the doorway, smiling sheepishly in a pair of camouflage pajama pants and a black Led Zeppelin t-shirt. "Naruto and Sasuke come over every other Friday and play Tekken Tag." Madara clicked his tongue then took another swig of his sake.

"I never pegged you for a gamer."

Sakura shrugged. "I mostly play on the weekends when I don't have to go anywhere." another roll of her shoulders signaled Sakura's retreat into the kitchen. She made a large bowl of popcorn and brought it back with the bottle of sake.

"You never did explain why you liked the goof-ball so much." reminded Madara as he moved to sit next to the pink-haired woman on the couch. Sakura turned red again.

"Well, it didn't happen over night, that's for sure." she told him, taking a long gulp of her drink. "At first, I thought he was annoying because I had been so used to how quiet and calm Itachi and Sasuke were… Shisui was just in your face compared to them. Like my friend, Naruto, only an Uchiha. After about a year of his constant nagging, I gave up and started hanging out with him. That's also about the time when he started showing up at where I worked and asked for my help with his work." she shrugged as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "I never really knew how much fun things could be until I spent that time with Shisui."

"So, when did all of this take place?" Sakura tapped a finger to her chin at the question.

"The beginning of my senior year in high school."

"Then why go out with Deidara if you liked Shisui so much?" Sakura heaved a sigh, sitting back and sagging against the couch.

"I felt sorry for him at the time." she admitted, fiddling with the hem of her shirt as she spoke. "He told me that he just gotten out of a rough relationship and just wanted someone to talk to. So, being the nice person I was back then, I agreed to go on a friend-ish date. And one date turned into two, then three and the next thing you know; we were an item."

"But you didn't love him." the words were out of his mouth before he could even filter the thought and it was too late to take them back.

"It was never about love, at least, not for him." she supplied nonetheless, her glass half empty now. "I like him a lot and maybe it would have turned to love but by the time I realized my feelings towards him, he was screwing some chick behind my back."

"And he never gave you an explanation for it?"

"No, but I'm willing to bet it was because I wouldn't put out." Sakura gulped down the last of her sake, Madara refilled it for her before topping off his own glass. "I didn't feel comfortable enough with our relationship to go that far with him and I told him that. Deidara said he understood and that he would wait. Look how that turned out! Rat bastard…" Madara nodded in understanding while grabbing a handful of popcorn.

"Sounds to me like he only wanted you around as a trophy. Why did you take him back?" another sigh left her lips.

"Because I'm an idiot for believing people deserve a second chance. He was on his knees crying, apologizing and promising that it would never happen again. I swear, Ayame must be a good lay because within eight months of us being back together, I found out -from a very reliable source- that he was with her again." Madara cocked a brow.

"You've got friends in high places. Who told you he was with her?"

"Itachi did. He saw the two of them at a bar and followed Deidara's car to a motel across town. You know, Itachi would make an excellent spy with his mad ninja skills." Madara actually had to agree with her there. Itachi did have a habit of appearing out of nowhere at the right time. "Oh, there's more. Of course we broke up after that and didn't see or speak to each other for eleven months. Then we just happened to bump into each other at the Police Winter Ball on New Year's Eve. And it was like a breath of fresh air. He didn't talk about what had happened, he smiled, cracked jokes and kept his distance. We were friends again.

"We decided to pick up were we left off and were together for a year. But it ended in a mutual break up that time. He and I decided that our friendship was more important than having that 'something more'. And to be honest, I was absolutely petrified of going the extra mile and giving myself to him for fear of waking up alone the next morning."

"And what go you two together this last time?" he honestly thought she was stupid for setting herself up for heartache over and over again. Why the hell would anyone keep going back if it hurt that much? Madara didn't get it.

"You, actually." she surprised him with her answer and he almost chocked on his sake. "Deidara had been so pissed off about the strippers that he vowed revenge. Despite everything we went through and the friendship we had, we decided to give it another shot. And, well… you saw how that ended." Sakura shrugged once more, swirling the sake in her glass before taking another sip. Of course he saw it. Who could've missed the pretty little girl completely clean the clock of a guy who was a full head and a half taller than her… with just one punch? "Honest to Kami-sama, if he really wanted to be with Ayame, he could have just told me and that would have been the end of it."

"As I said, you were a trophy. Do you know how many guys at the office would die to be in Deidara's place by your side?" he asked as he reached into his pocket for his cigarettes and lighter. "Do you mind it mind if I smoke?"

"Not alt all. Mind if I have one?" an ebony brow raised as Sakura leaned over and pulled an ashtray from the side table.

"I didn't know you smoked."

"Only when the occasion calls for it. Don't tell my dad, he'd have both of our asses for it." she said, accepting the cancer stick he offered and thanked him as he lit it for her. "So, the guys at the office want to jump my bones? Why? I'm nothing special, I don't see what they think is so great about me."

"Well, they do. Hidan and Kakuzu especially. Maybe even that Sabaku brat." Madara said after a long drag on his cigarette. "I've seen the way he looks at you when you walk by, it's like he's undressing you with his eyes.

Sakura blushed scarlet. "N-no way! We've been friends for years. I… I've never noticed…" Madara waved a hand as if to tell her not to worry about it. Yup, she was oblivious to the advances members of the opposite sex made towards her… and that made his plan harder to work. At least she was a relaxed drunk or he's be in a world of shit right now. And he did feel kind of… maybe _a little_… sorry for her and the crap she had to go through tonight. Being nice just this once wouldn't hurt any. Sakura flicked her ashes into the glass ashtray before breaking out into a fit of giggles. Madara gave her a cock-eyed stare.

"What's so funny?"

"You wanna know a secret?" she slurred, purring softly with mischief shining in her eyes. Intrigued, Madara leaned forward as he flicked his cigarette ashes into the tray. With a soft 'hn', he motioned for her to continue. "Dumbass wears _pink_, Hello Kitty boxers."

"Are you serious?" he questioned, trying to hold back a smirk.

"I am. I'll go get them if you don't believe me." without waiting for a response, Sakura staggered and stumbled her way to her room to retrieve said article of clothing. She returned moments later, holding up the bright pink underwear over her head. "Did I mention he has more than one pair in five different colors?" Madara could not contain the laugh that rumbled in his chest, up his throat and passed his lips. He shook his head and laughed harder as Sakura took the underwear and put it on her head (like a cap) while stumbling back to her seat.

"You know," he started as Sakura plopped down next to him. "If you squint your eyes they could almost pass for your real hair." that had Sakura cracking up as she tried to finish her sake.

"Hey! Do you want to play a game?" she actually had to crawl over to the TV for the controllers, tossing one to Madara.

"Put in Tekken Tag." he said with a feral grin. "I'm going to kick your ass."

"Oh? Well, we'll see about that, buster!" the rest of the night was spent play Tekken and Twisted Metal until the both passed out on the couch.

~xxx~

Deidara frowned as he snapped his cell phone shut. Sakura hadn't picked up the phone when he called her (five times in twenty minutes!). Not that he had expected her to, but normally she would pick up once and yell 'stop calling me!' then hang up. Hell, he didn't even get her answering machine. All he wanted was to apologize, get his stuff back and disappear into thin air. Her ignoring him was not unexpected but highly annoying. And his frown only deepened when he found a black BMW parked next to Sakura's red Honda, in her visitors parking space. He looked at the car carefully, spotting the vanity plate that read 'TOBI 1', he growled.

"_That mother fucker_…"

The blonde had to park a ways off in the back parking lot, otherwise his car would have been towed, and stalked his way up to the front door of the building. He didn't care if they just broke up last night, he did not want Madara around Sakura… alone, in her apartment, most likely taking advantage of her in her time of need. The more he thought about Madara and Sakura together, the more it pissed him off. So what if they had friends in the same crowd. Deidara did not care for any of the Uchiha kin, especially Itachi and Madara; they were the Devil incarnate in his book. And he was not about to leave sweet, little Sakura to fall prey to that bastard. Walking through the front door, the clerk at the front desk looked at him with wide crimson eyes.

"Has Sakura dropped off my stuff, yeah?" he asked, glaring at the raven-haired woman.

"No, Sakura-san hasn't been down yet… neither has the gentleman she came back with last night."

"I kinda figured that, yeah." Deidara snapped, walking quickly towards the elevators. As soon as the doors closed, the clerk picked up the phone and quickly punched the numbers on the dial.

"Kakashi-san, it's Kurenai. Listen, I think we have a problem."

~xxx~

Sakura groaned and snuggled deeper into the warmth that surrounded her. Something around her waist pulled her forward, engulfing her in warmth and the scent of tobacco smoke and Old Spice cologne. She buried her face where the scent was coming from and heard a soft sigh in reply. The sound didn't compute with her half asleep brain. And what the hell was that knocking sound? The knocking grew louder, more insistent as Sakura slowly rose to a semiconscious state. Her hangover couldn't be that bad, it took more than six beers and a few cups of sake to knock her on her ass.

"_Sakura! Open the fucking door, yeah!_"

Oh, joy.

"Go away, asshole!" Sakura said loudly, though it was muffled due to the fact that her face was buried in something soft yet firm, but very, very warm.

"Don't do that, it tickles." a voice groaned from above, rough and thick with sleep. Sakura's eyes fluttered open, searching for the source of the voice. She found Madara's half lidded stare that was far too close for comfort. "What's with all the commotion?" he asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Sakura squeaked, jerking back with the realization that she and Madara were… cuddling on her couch, and promptly fell on the floor.

"_Sakura, I'm coming in!_"

But Sakura wasn't paying any attention to the commotion at the front door, her attention was focused on the hand Madara offered. She took the offered appendage and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet, only to stumble and hall forward because of the green blanket wrapped around her legs. The very same blanket that used to hang over the back of her couch. Strong arms kept her upright but the damage had been done when Deidara stalked into the living room, shaking with fury.

"What the fuck is going on here, yeah?" the blond demanded hotly. This was what he didn't want to find when he came in. Sakura pressed against Madara, blushing as she looked up at the Uchiha who held her in a protective embrace while said Uchiha looked down at her with an somewhat-tender gaze. "Oi! I'm talking to you, un!"

Sakura slipped away from Madara slowly, quietly thanking him for his help before turning a cold glare to her ex. "Has anyone told you that you have horrible timing?" she asked, straightening her clothes. Her arms crossed and her glare hardened on Deidara as he glared at Madara. I would appreciate it if you left now before I call the cops."

"Don't threaten me with your father, Sakura, yeah. It won't work this time, un." Deidara turned his narrowed eyes to her, burning a hole through her with its intensity. "Tell me just what the fuck I walked in on, yeah."

"I don't see how it is any of your business, Iwa. The two of you are no longer together." Madara said, easing himself forward slowly to stand slightly in front of Sakura.

"You keep your trap shut, Uchiha. This matter does not concern you, yeah."

"On the contrary," the taller male said, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "She's my _employee_, if she is unable to perform her duties in the office tomorrow it directly effects _me and my work._"

"Look," Sakura growled, glaring around Madara's arm. "Just get your shit and go. I have a headache and I really don't want to deal with you today."

"I'm not leaving you alone with him, yeah." the blonde hissed. Sakura threw her hands up and sighed loudly.

"_Fine!_" she yelled, stepping around Madara to go down the hall. "I'll get it for you." but before she could take two steps down the hall, her upper arm was seized in a bruising grip and harshly spun to face a very pissed off blonde. Sakura glared up at Deidara, clinching her free hand at her side. "Let go of me or -_Kami help you_- I'll wring you a new one."

"_We_," he growled, tugging her closer and tightening his grip on her arm, "need to talk. Now." Sakura winced slightly before jerking back.

"Let me go." Deidara ignored her, dragging Sakura away from the living room, but Madara took action before the blonde could get around the corner. The Uchiha moved quickly, snatching Deidara's wrist and pressing down hard on a pressure point under the palm that made the blonde's fingers go numb and loosen their grip on Sakura. Madara then eased Sakura behind him as he bent Deidara's hand at an odd angle right when the front door burst open.

Dressed in his uniform, Kakashi strode forward with his gun drawn and aimed towards the, now kneeling and screaming, blonde. Sakura rushed to her father's side, thanking her lucky stars that he appeared. Kakashi gave her a one-armed hug and let her go, stepping towards the two men between the kitchen and living room.

Without a word, Madara let Deidara go and stepped away. He chose to check on Sakura and leave Kakashi to deal with the sputtering, growling blonde idiot.

"How bad is it?" he asked, motioning to the arm that Sakura cradled to her chest. Sakura let him roll up her sleeve, watching as Madara carefully traced the angry, red, finger marks Deidara had left behind. Madara had seen this before plenty of times; it would bruise to an ugly dark purple and would hurt like hell for a couple of days, but she would be alright. "I hope you plan to dress charges."

"Oh, you don't have to tell me twice." she responded distantly, watching her father handcuff Deidara and pick him up off the floor.

"Is this the first time he's hurt you… physically?" Sakura nodded.

"Normally, he just yells. I've never seen him so _angry_ before." well, she certainly sounded like an scared bunny at the moment, her voice was shaky and breathy, but her eyes were hard and cold. She was a strong woman, he noted, and would be just fine on her own.

"I'm going to hand off this piece of trash to another officer." Kakashi drawled, turning their attention to him and the grumbling blonde he held. "I'll be right back."

"How many officers are here?" Sakura questioned, rubbing her arm lightly.

"Well… I got a call to get the rookies on the training field this morning. So, there's two in the hall and the other five and waiting downstairs." he shrugged his shoulders at the show of force. When it came to his little girl, eight men weren't enough. If he had it his way, the entire district would be in her apartment. "Oh, and don't think I haven't noticed the empty bottle of sake and the pair of boxers in the living room."

Sakura paled as Kakashi turned a pointed glare to Madara. Deidara stiffened in his grasp, Madara sighed and Sakura groaned. _Greaaaat!_ One more thing to explain when he got back.

"I'll make some coffee." she said with a sigh and slunk her way over to the counter. Kakashi pushed Deidara towards the door with a sigh of his own. "Hey, dad?" the silver-haired man paused in mid step, looking over his shoulder at his daughter.

"Yes, Pumpkin?"

"_I want my spare key back from him._" she declared with a glare.

"Of course, Pumpkin." from his tone, Madara knew things wouldn't turn out fine for the blonde in handcuffs and the eye-crinkle Kakashi sent over his shoulder unnerved the Uchiha. It promised pain and suffering for the man being shuffled out of the apartment. There was nothing to worry about when the door closed.

"Pumpkin, huh?" Madara chuckled and ducked to avoid a dish cloth thrown his way.

"Don't even start, Mada-chan!" she roared, shaking a fist at him. "Help me clean up a bit before my dad gets back, then I'll make breakfast."

"I may have to come over more often if your mornings are always this exciting." this time, he could not duck fast enough as a wet wash cloth hit him in the back of the head.

"That's the last time I get drunk and play Tekken Tag with you!" he chuckled at her fury-etched features, the sight of her hard gaze and clenched jaw had hid shaking with repressed laughter.

"Oh, but Sakura, there's always Mortal Kombat." that did it. Sakura chased him around her apartment with a frying pan.

(**A/N**: Smile, it confused people. Well, there you have it. I am so sorry it took me so long to get this up. I hope you enjoyed the read. Oh, the whole dancing scene was inspired by the song '_Sweet Dream'_ by Beyonce. I know it sounds crazy (because you all know that I listen to heavy metal) but I just discovered the song while looking up MadaSaku videos on Youtube… and it just clicked and morphed the chapter into what it is. I couldn't help the image that popped into my head when I heard that song and watching the video that went with it. A sexy, shirtless Madara twirling a scantily-clad Sakura around the room with smoldering eyes… yeah, you get the picture. Anyways, _REVIEW_!)


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